Green-Eyed
by semicolonial
Summary: Ema's crushing on a boy from school; envy begins to run rampant in the Asahina household.
1. Forms

**I don't own Brothers Conflict.**

 **Summary: Ema falls in love with a boy in her grade; the Asahina brothers find out.**

* * *

 **Prelude**

 _He was charming as a rose and brilliant as gold, and there was nothing she didn't love about him. But every fleeting touch met with a soft, adoring glance brought to her waves of guilt, flashing in the forms of her brothers. Forms she couldn't shake. Sometimes she would sit with him and stare in horror as his shape molded into Tsubaki's, his lips painfully curled into a trembling scowl. Other times, she would lay her head on his bare chest, moving away her ear when his heartbeat began to drum to the rhythm of Subaru's. She saw Yusuke, crying on the floor. Azusa, gaze empty with lips moving to ask her_ why _._

 _And the guilt ate at her, her lover questioning her in their trysts. And he was gentle still, voice deep and reverberating through her, tingling her to her toes in excitement, and for a moment, she forgot her guilt. She forgot her brothers. She forgot those who loved her. In that moment, it was simply Ema Hinata and the man she loved._

 _After all, it is what every girl deserves: to love and be loved._

* * *

 **Chapter One**

"Not everyone gets what they deserve."

Ema looked up from her book, eyes glancing to the left and the right before landing on her professor. She was reprimanding a student, stern glare in place as the delinquent waved his hands in a weak attempt to persuade her into whatever it had been that he had wanted. Unmoved, the teacher shook her head.

"Frankly, Akimoto-kun, I don't believe you _do_ deserve the passing grade. You clearly didn't study _or_ pay attention in class."

Disinterested, Ema's eyes made a move to turn back to her reading before her teacher's voice was directed at her. The girl in question jumped and looked up once more to see that her professor was waving her to her desk; a new student had replaced the one whom the professor had been arguing, and Ema stood next to him at the teacher's oak table.

"Hinata-san," her voice was soft, in sharp contrast to what Ema had witnessed before. "This is Kaito Hashira. He's transferring into our homeroom today. I would appreciate if you might be Hashira-kun's guide through the school, and perhaps make him feel welcome."

A small noise of surprise came from the girl as she peeked at the young man from the corner of her eye. He smiled at her kindly, dark hair falling in messy wisps over russet-colored eyes. He had to be at least a full head taller than her, and she had to turn her view upward to lock eyes with his. She turned back to her professor.

"I would be happy to, Hashira-kun doesn't mind..."

"Of course I don't mind." he nodded once to Ema, eyes twinkling with his small smile. "Hinata-san, isn't it?"

"That's correct," Ema said, dropping her gaze shyly as pink colored her cheeks.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm glad to have you showing me around; this school seems difficult to navigate."

He laughed lightly, and the professor chuckled.

"Well in that case, you two will be getting along famously. Hashira-kun, you may take the seat next to Ema."

Ema guided him back to his desk and took her own seat; he seemed to be very energetic, chatting happily with her the entire way. They waited patiently for class to begin, Kaito telling Ema stories of one time he'd gone fishing with his little sister, and Ema laughing the entire way through.

Meanwhile, a certain red-haired boy watched from his seat as his sister's ecstasy bubbled around her and the boy, who'd leaned back in his chair and begun to amuse Ema with impressions Yuusuke could recognize; he had to admit, they were rather impressive, but officiousness welled within him;

 _Who was this boy?_

* * *

"And she took the fish by the tail, and it jumped up and smacked her in the face!"

Kaito concluded his story with an exuberant laugh, Ema giggling warmly as the two of them left the classroom. The lesson had concluded, and the two made their way to their lockers, Kaito stopping at the one beside Ema's.

"Oh, look," Ema declared brightly. "Your locker is right beside mine."

A boyish grin made its way onto Kaito's face. "Yeah, it is! It's organized alphabetically, huh? Hashira, Hinata, they're pretty close."

Ema nodded. "I suppose I'm lucky. I registered at the beginning of the school year as Hinata, although I should be under Asahina."

Kaito cocked his head pensively. "Really? How come?" he pulled his bag out of his locker, extending his hand in an offer to hold Ema's.

"That's alright, Hashira-san. I don't want to be a bother."

"It's really no trouble at all."

With a moment's pause, Ema released her bag to Kaito and walked with him shoulder-to-shoulder, gaze thoughtful as she stared into space. "My father remarried, and my brothers are the ones who sign my forms and all. I may be registered under Asahina next year."

"That's a shame then," Kaito commented solemnly. "You'll have to switch lockers."

"No, we have the same lockers throughout high school, I think."

Kaito nodded in understanding.

"That's good then!" he chuckled and sat on a bench outside the school, Ema following suit. His fingers ran over a flower in the grass beside him before plucking it at its stem and offering it to Ema. "Here. As thanks for helping me today."

A wild blush spread over her cheeks, painting itself above her shy smile. "Oh... thank you."

"It's nothing." Kaito cast his eyes to the distance. "That would be my ride. I'll see you tomorrow in the morning?"

Ema beamed at him. "Of course!"

Kaito returned the smile with equal enthusiasm. "Alright, bye then!"

And as he scampered off, Ema brought the soft petals of the flower to her nose, brushing its soft petals against her lips before tucking it blissfully behind her ear.

* * *

 **There it is! Just the first chapter + a prelude. It's more of a preview than anything. I'll update as quickly as I can, especially since this is so short.**

 **To those of you wondering, yes, I do intend for this to be Ema x one of the Asahina brothers. It'll very, very likely be Iori, as that's what a friend of mine and I talked about, and as that's my main squeeze in this fandom. If, somehow, it isn't, he'll definitely be playing a big role in this story. The brothers will show up next chapter.**

 **Kaito's character, I hope, will turn out to be like that of Arai of OHSHC; a bit of a boy-next-door charm. Let me know how I'm doing as the story goes on!**

 **Reviews are gladly welcome, and I absolutely love hearing ideas from you guys!**


	2. Golden

**Standard disclaimer; also, there are some announcements in the second author's notes.**

* * *

 _The story of Eris and the golden apple is one that has fascinated many for centuries. It is one told in nearly every region; any mythology book will have tucked away into it the story of the goddess, perhaps delivered in blocks of text, or rather in colorful illustrations with the golden fruit gleaming magnificently among the faithful, wise, and beautiful._

 _The golden apple perhaps caused more discord than the fruit of Persephone, the six seeds passing through her lips and damning her to the Underworld._

 _And the golden apple, in all its beauty, symbolized chaos._

 _But most importantly, the golden apple lived and breathed within the walls of Sunrise Residence, a flower tucked behind her ear._

* * *

Ema nearly waltzed her way home, and by the time she had crossed the threshold, Yusuke's eye had begun to twitch in annoyance. The small flower still laying on her ear rose questions, and her daydream demeanor turned heads:

"Ema," Ukyo had called for her attention, holding to her a stalk of leeks. "Would you mind cutting these? We'll be having stew tonight, and..."

He trailed off, seeing her on the couch sandwiched between Tsubaki and Azusa, chocolate eyes half-lidded above a serene smile. Chuckling to himself, the second son dismissed her distraction as sleepiness, pulling a knife from the kitchen drawer and slicing the leeks. He caught eyes once with his younger brothers, and Tsubaki lifted a finger to his lips in a hushing motion with a grin.

Her cloudiness drifted her through dinner, one hand pushed between her knees and the other stirring her stew contentedly. All comments and questions directed at her were repeated twice, the brothers beginning to grow curious about her sudden change in poise.

It was Natsume, who'd stopped by the house for a visit to give her a game, to comment first on the flower. The brothers who had been present turned their ears, their attention caught; Ema, however, had flushed pink and promptly pulled it from her curls of hair, holding it close to her heart as she murmured a reply to Natsume and scampered up the stairs. Speculation began to weave at her odd reaction.

"Relax, all of you," chastised Masaomi, whose fingers had tensed around the handle of his mug. "I'm sure it was just a flower from Iori..."

Iori caught his brother's unspoken question and shook his head silently. "No, it wasn't me."

The atmosphere quickly quieted as eyes flitted to the others. A smug voice cut through the silence.

"Well obviously it must have been a boy from school," Hikaru began, eyes smoldering over the rim of his cup as they gauged his brothers' reactions with wicked interest. "And with the way she was acting, I would say she returns the feelings. Our little sister seems to have been smitten."

And he closed his eyes, basking in the golden apple he'd thrown among the brothers.

"Of course not." Azusa raised his glass to his lips and closed his eyes, feeling the color drain from his face. One hand rested itself on his chest. "She would have told us if that happened."

"For once I have to agree with Azusa," it was Tsubaki who piped up next, voice sharp and defensive. "She couldn't have kept something like _that_ from _us_!"

"Not _couldn't_ ," Hikaru said. " _Shouldn't_. It doesn't mean that she _wouldn't_ or _didn't_."

"Hikaru, that's enough." It was Ukyo whose cold, stern glare pierced his brother. His voice was strained. "Let Ema be, and don't tease your brothers."

"Ah, but you agree with me, don't you?" Hikaru said, unaffected. "That she's _in love_ , I mean. You saw the way she acted tonight. It was the same lovesick puppy face that you all wear every day!" And with that, he broke into cool laughter.

" _Enough_." Ukyo's glare seemed to harden. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Hm? About her being in love? Or about you?"

"You—"

"I'm just being a supportive big brother," Hikaru cut in. "If my little sister is in love, then I only see it fit to help her through it. And by _through it_ I don't mean _getting over it_. But I digress. It's still only an _if_ at this point, hm? I have no clue why you're all getting so worked up over it." With that, he stood, laying his cup on the slider on the coffee table. "I'll be taking my leave now. Good night, everyone."

The click of the locking door seemed to echo for ages in the stillness.

* * *

Breakfast was tense in the morning; Ema hadn't seemed to notice. However, all the brothers, even those who hadn't been present for the previous evening's heated debate, twitched in the dark aura that seemed to fall over the table. Ukyo and Masaomi tried in vain to create light conversation.

Both eyed their sister warily.

"Well," Ema stood gently. "We should be getting to school now. Yusuke?"

The boy's head snapped up, violently fighting the red threatening to color his cheeks. He hadn't listened to the conversation the night before, and was anxious to return to school to learn more about the curious boy who had caught his infatuation-turned-sister's attention.

"Yes! Yes. Let's go."

Neither noticed the many pairs of eyes that trailed after them.

* * *

Ema seemed to light up when she passed through the doorway, seeing Kaito's cheerful wave at her once his eyes caught hold of hers. His smile seemed to grow warmer than the day before, and Ema nodded to Yusuke and sat down beside Kaito.

"Good morning," he greeted, taking a large bite of his sandwich. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, did you?" Ema replied with a blush.

"Just fine, thanks. Dreamt of sandwiches," He held up a sandwich stuffed with roast beef and cheese. "So naturally I had to stop and get one on the way. Want a taste?"

He held his uneaten half of sandwich in its paper wrapping, offering it to her. She hesitated a moment.

"I can't ask that. You paid for it on your own..."

"Yeah, but I'm getting full anyway. If you want it, take it, I don't mind."

Ema tentatively took a bite of the sandwich before smiling softly. "It's good!"

Kaito nodded, and the two ate their meals in companionable silence.

Ema had finished the last bite of her sandwich when the teacher cleared her throat and announced the week's plan. Upon hearing of a partner project, Ema's eyes wandered inconspicuously to Kaito beside her, whose legs were bouncing impatiently as class started. The teacher let the students talk amongst themselves to decide their groups, and Kaito looked to Ema, who dropped her stare and blushed.

"Ah, I didn't know there would be a partner project. Although she did tell us that earlier in the week." Ema remarked as she let her eyes raise back up to Kaito's. He nodded thoughtfully.

"Partner projects. They're difficult. I've met a few people I could possibly partner up with."

"O-oh." Ema nodded, mildly disappointed. "That's good. I might just partner up with my brother."

He chuckled. "If you want, we can partner up. I'd assume you work with your siblings all the time."

"It's really no trouble if you had somebody else you wanted!" Ema said with a small squeak. "I do, and that's alright if you had somebody in mind. I don't want to be any trouble."

"Then in that case, we _should_ partner up." He grinned, two dimples appearing which Ema hadn't noticed the day before. She turned pink as he continued. "You're smart. And fun. But I won't push you around, don't worry; I'd get it if you want to partner up with your brothers."

Her head snapped up, stunned. A panicked gleam lit Kaito's eyes, and the dimples on his cheeks quickly disappeared.

"Er... did I say something wrong?"

"H-huh? No, you didn't. I'm sorry, I'm just not used to people saying that."

Kaito blinked, oblivious to her meaning, before smiling amiably. "Oh, yeah, I guess it was pretty forward of me to say it directly. Sorry."

"No, don't apologize. It would be nice to work with you, I just don't know if Yusuke will have a partner..."

He nodded. "Then go to him. I'll be fine!" he beamed and looked back around the room, where already a girl in their class was waving at him coquettishly. He smiled and nodded (Ema took care in noting that his dimples didn't flash when he smiled at her, and that his nod was more polite than flirtatious).

"Ah, Hinata-san." He turned back to Ema, russet eyes sparkling. "We should hang out outside school, though."

She blinked and turned red.

"Not like that!" he laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "I mean as friends. We can picnic under the cherry blossoms."

"Oh! I'd enjoy that. Did you have any time in mind?"

"Saturday, maybe? I can pick you up at around eleven in the morning."

"That sounds nice." Ema said, a small smile on her face. "I look forward to it."

Kaito nodded eagerly and tore a small piece of paper off the corner of his assignment, scrawling his phone number on it. "In case you have any questions. About the picnic or about the project." He added the last part with a grin before scampering off to their classmate and taking a seat beside her.

Ema turned, making her way to Yusuke as she thought about his words earlier.

 _You're smart. And fun. But I won't push you around._

She hadn't mentioned the real reason for her shock when he spoke his declaration. After the longest time of hearing Fuuto call her an idiot, or of allowing unwanted kisses and almost-kisses from the people _who were supposed to be her brothers_ , his words were like a breath of fresh air. She looked at him from across the room as she took her seat next to Yusuke, a faint smile growing on her face.

A breath of fresh air indeed.

* * *

 **I forgot to mention this last chapter, but my only knowledge of Brothers' Conflict is off the anime and the OVAs. Please don't take it to heart if I mess anything up within the novels or games, and please bear in mind that I'm still trying to capture their voices correctly.**

 **As far as shipping; so far, this is going to be an Ema/Iori story. _However_ , I'm pretty neutral with whom I ship Ema (Iori excluded), so if you want the story to sway one way or another, just give me a suggestion as to whom you'd like to see as her lover at the end of the story. No promises, though.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review; it makes me happy to receive feedback and definitely makes me want to update faster. :)**


	3. Games

_Many games have been played throughout history. Most of these games involve some sort of physical contact, ranging from basketball, to hockey, and even to sex. The last is quite obviously the most physical of said games, where touch is strategy and lips are fair weapons._

 _Many games, however, take place in the mind. Love is one of these games, a game played unintentionally by many, and unwanted by some._

 _The game of love is a fascinating one. The teams are often divided unevenly, and often there are_ no _teams. But when the players are counted, the game is vicious; neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, but most importantly, brother against brother._

 _And so let the games begin._

* * *

"Chii, you're looking impossibly... I don't even know what. Your head's been in the clouds, I can tell."

Ema chuckled quietly at her small friend, setting down her pencil with a small smile.

"It's nothing, Juli."

" _Nothing_ , hm? You're not upset because one of those wolves did something to you?"

She laughed fondly, turning to him. "Juli, they're not wolves. They're my brothers, and they didn't do anything wrong."

Juli crossed his arms. "Hmpf. I wouldn't say that, Chii. I heard them talking last night. They think you're _in love_."

Ema froze as Juli continued.

"They didn't see me sitting on the stair rail, but I heard every word. Fortunately, Louis seems to be on our side so far; even if you _are_ in love, I know he'd help us out! Those pervert brothers just wanted you to themselves... Chii?"

He scampered to her shoulder. "Chii, what's the matter?"

She turned to him, tears pooling on her eyes. Could it have been true? She'd known that she'd felt a pull to Kaito, but they'd only known each other a few days... and if it _was_ an infatuation, why was she so upset?

No, she knew why. She turned her view to the door, eyes wide with the fear of a puppy caught ruining the sofa. She held her hands to her heart and furrowed her brow, turning her head downward as she contemplated her affection for Kaito, but more importantly, the affection she knew her brothers felt for her.

An instinct told her that there were more of them who had feelings for her, than the ones who had confessed. Hikaru had certainly hinted at that idea, and Fuuto and Kaname had straight-out told her that she had the entire family wrapped round her finger. But from the moment she'd arrived, she'd been so bombarded with the brothers' feelings, one after the next, that she hadn't ever considered the possibility of being romantically involved with someone who _wasn't_ one of them. And now that she was considering it, horror at her selfishness nearly tore her apart inside out.

"Chii." Juli's voice was gentle now. "I can tell that you're crying inside. What is it?"

"Oh, Juli," she sniffled. "I..."

"Yes?"

"...There's a boy at my school." Ema said as Juli's fur stood on end in surprise. "He's funny, and sweet, and even though I just met him a few days ago, I already like him. A lot. And there have only been a few times I've considered _any_ of the brothers romantically, but I'm already thinking of him that way, and I..."

She broke off with a small cry.

"I see." Juli said understandingly. "You feel guilty because this boy, he's taken your heart when the brothers were there first. It's not your fault, Chii, those wolves shouldn't have fallen for you in the first place; you're their little sister. And you can't control how you feel about this boy."

"I can't help it," Ema said, her shoulders seeming to wither. "Feeling guilty, I mean. I've already turned down Tsubaki, Azusa, and Natsume, but Hikaru's said that everyone's feelings have just begun. And they seem to be more intense than usual... and I can't help but feel like everyone's feelings are going to break loose soon. Everyone's."

"Ah, so you know about that, hm?" Juli said, dropping lightly on her desk to look at her head-on. "Well, it couldn't have been kept from you forever. It's true that they have romantic feelings for you, save Wataru and possibly Louis and Hikaru."

"I know," Ema replied solemnly. "Which is why... even if I _do_ decide to move to that level with Kaito, I'd never truly be able to enjoy it. Not without hiding with him, or feeling guilt over how I'd be hurting them... oh!" Ema started in embarrassment. "Of course, I can cross that bridge when I get there. I've only known him a few days, after all, and we're going to be going on a picnic tomorrow. I don't want to make things awkward between us."

"Eh?! You're going on a date and you didn't tell me?"

"It's not a date, Juli, it's just two friends picnicking under the cherry blossoms."

"You're far too trusting, Chii. But in any case, I should go with you."

"You really don't have to, Juli. Besides, if you do come with me, then who will stay here to keep an eye on my brothers?" she smiled in amusement.

"I— hm. You do have a point there, Chii. But you know that if you need me, you can call me."

"I know, Juli. Go to bed now."

"I will. Don't stay up too late."

With that, the squirrel jumped onto the bed and curled up beside the pillow, leaving Ema to contemplate her thoughts. Her frustration grew within her and reached its peak with the click of her lamp.

The darkness that weighed her eyes was more welcoming than she could have known.

* * *

"Good morning!" Kaito waved at Ema from his car as she locked the house door.

"Good morning!" She called back with a small wave. He walked around and opened the passenger door for her before slipping into the drivers' seat. The engine purred softly as they left the driveway, Ema taking in the delightful aroma of the lunch that Kaito had packed, and commenting on it, he perked.

"There are tuna sandwiches, fried chicken, some stew, and steamed rice. And we have juice to drink. There's enough for two of us, yeah?" He winked, pulling a blush from the small girl beside him.

At last, they pulled into the cherry blossom park.

"Ah, Hashira-kun-"

At that, Kaito held up his hand, cutting off Ema. "You don't have to call me that. You can call me Kaito."

"O-oh. You can call me Ema, then."

"If you want, then I will. Sorry, what were you saying before I interrupted?"

"Right, I was saying that if you wanted me to help with something, I can. There's a lot to carry, what with the basket and the blankets and the grocery bags..."

"No, it's alright, they're quite heavy and I don't want you overexerting yourself."

"Oh. You're sure? I don't want to be a bother," Ema said.

"Well, it's no bother, but if you really want to help out, you can just hold onto the blankets. I'll take everything else."

So the two of them settled on that, Kaito heaving the picnic basket onto his shoulder as two plastic bags dangled from his other hand; Ema folded the picnic blanket over forearm, carrying it in front of her as they scouted out a place to sit.

The afternoon passed on without a hitch, the two laughing the entire way through. Orange began to dust across the clouds, and Kaito stood, taking Ema's small hand in his own and lifting her to her feet.

"We should get you home to your brothers," he told her with a smile.

"Ah! It's alright, I don't think most of them will notice me coming back anyway."

"Most of them?" Kaito's eyebrow arched curiously.

And there it was, the dreaded question. Ema swallowed, a smile plastering itself on her face. "Thirteen."

He blinked in surprise. "Wow, thirteen? How do you even handle it?" His good-natured laugh set her at ease. "I can barely handle my sister."

She giggled, cautiously letting him thread his arm into hers. "Well, most of them are grown up. Usually it's easy to feel comfortable around them."

"Usually?"

The girl froze, and feeling her tension, Kaito turned to her in concern. "If it's something you don't want to talk about..."

He trailed off, and her gaze fell from his. He squeezed her elbow reassuringly.

A small smile graced her features.

* * *

From a spot on the bench across the lake, a certain red haired man turned his rouge-stained lips into a secretive smile. He produced a small chart from his purse, delicately tearing it twice, then thrice, before tossing its shreds into the water.

"A new game has begun."

* * *

 **Ahah, sorry for the long wait! Don't worry, I'll try to get things rolling soon. This was mostly a filler; I wanna pace the story evenly, but I still want to make sure to get a good point of view from both Ema and the brothers.**

 **As always, please review!**


	4. Confession

**Sorry about the wait! I don't own BroCon.**

* * *

 _Seasons have fascinated many cultures for many centuries. What brings the change in the year to life? Is it because a goddess, blinded with naivete, ate the six seeds of a pomegranate? Is it because Mother Nature, out of loneliness, created Summer and Winter, then Fall and Spring? Or perhaps it is the way many know it today, with the Earth going about its own wicked way as it spins and spins and spins._

 _Beautiful, lush trees mark the seasons, trading their dresses for plumes of green or blankets of white, or perhaps simply baring themselves naked altogether. If only mankind could be so undisguised._

* * *

The seasons changed, as did the young Hinata girl. She marked the year with her own self and with the mighty tree standing proudly outside her window; in the summertime, she sat by the open glass in a tank top and shorts and watched the tree's leaves grow full as she waved her brothers as they passed below her leaving and entering the home. In the winter, she pressed a mug of hot chocolate into her hands and hummed contentedly when the snow fell onto the tree's barren branches.

But no matter when it was, she always had one constant; her cell phone was always in her hand or at her ear as she chatted fondly with Kaito. His voice warmed her on cold winter nights and cooled her on hot summer afternoons. The pair grew closer and closer, much to the suspicion of Yusuke; however, he never pushed it, not when Ema began to walk home with Kaito, or when she began partnering up with him for projects.

The rest of the brothers were high on their guards, cautiously observing Ema and her changes in demeanor. But the girl was cautious, never leaving her phone out and keeping her expression neutral when Kaito would have otherwise brought smiles to her face. And she felt herself slowly but surely, falling for him, and for the first time, she liked it. And she knew he did, too.

It was a dance of theirs, and one that Ema took pains in doing. But she couldn't stop herself; he was smart, funny, and kind. But above all, he wasn't her brother.

For so long, she'd dreamed of a family. When she had gotten one, they had fallen for her. It took its toll on her, and as she soon found out with Kaito, it wasn't a toll that she had to pay alone; her friend wasn't yet aware of her situation at home, but seemed to understand not to rush her. He hadn't even been to her house or spent time with her family, and she made sure it stayed that way.

And as Kaito became more and more understanding, Ema became more and more enamored. It seemed to her and to Juli, who had taken a liking to the respectful demeanor of the Hashira boy, that they could say the same for him.

It was on a chilly winter morning that they sat together in a small cafe in amicable silence, Kaito having bought hot chocolate, soup, and dessert for each of them. Ema watched, sipping her cocoa as she sat in an armchair while Kaito lazily sketched her in a drawing pad. Juli curled up by Kaito's arm, dozing comfortably in the warmth of the fireplace.

"I'm still impressed with your drawing, Kaito." Ema looked from his talented hand to his face with a kind smile. He smiled sleepily, causing her to giggle. He closed the book, waking up Juli.

"Ah, sorry, Juli," he said, petting the squirrel's ear. Juli squeaked a response to which Ema translated as his forgiveness.

Despite not being able to understand Juli, Kaito grinned at him and began sipping his soup.

"Ema, I've been thinking..."

She looked up, dismay clear in her eyes. He quickly rushed to cover for himself.

"It's nothing bad, don't worry. But I've been thinking- and you don't have to answer this, by the way -why exactly is it that you never want me to come over?"

There it was. It was a miracle that he hadn't asked sooner, and she had spent so much time practicing her answer in the mirror that she should have been ready to respond. But she wasn't, and her breath caught. Kaito, who was thoughtfully staring into the fire, didn't notice her reaction.

"I mean, you come over all the time. You've met my parents and my sister Kimiko, but I'm curious as to why I haven't met your brothers. Not even Yusuke, who's in our class... is something wrong?"

He stared in concern. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I was just curious."

"No, no. It's not your fault. It's just... things are... complicated. With my brothers, I mean. I'm not entirely sure how to put it..."

"That's okay," he began. "You-"

"No. You're my... friend," she said, looking at him wistfully and for a moment wishing they were more. "You're my friend, and you probably deserve to know."

"Is this a story we're going to need more cocoa for?" he asked mischievously, and the tension lifted from her shoulders and she laughed.

"Yes, it probably is."

"Alright," he called the waiter over and drew his card, to which Ema stopped him.

"You paid for lunch, dessert, and drinks. I can pay for another serving of cocoa."

He and the waiter locked eyes and stifled a laugh. "Actually, Hashira-san frequents this cafe so much he has a membership here. He has free refills on cocoa." The waiter said, a twinkle in his eye. "He came here often when he was a child, before he moved away."

"Ah, thanks, Shiro. I'm sure she doesn't think I'm a ridiculous cocoa maniac at this point," Kaito said with a grin, handing his and Ema's mugs to Shiro, who winked and walked away laughing. Ema herself giggled, shaking her head.

"You forgot to mention that you lived here as a child."

"I did? Oh, sorry, I did. We moved away when I was twelve. We came back for my father's job."

"Really? I never saw you in primary school."

"Ah, I was homeschooled when I was younger." She opened her mouth to continue the small talk when Shiro returned with their cocoa, to which Kaito responded with thanks and a tip. When he left, Kaito turned back to Ema and brought his mug to his lips. "You were going to tell me something, _if_ you want to."

She laughed shyly, Juli scampering up to her.

"You don't have to, Chii. Kaito is an understanding boy. He can wait."

"No, Juli," she replied, scooping the squirrel close to her heart. "I'm ready."

She turned to Kaito, who looked at her quizzically. She took a deep breath.

"I didn't always live with my brothers. They're my stepbrothers. Thirteen of them. My adoptive father remarried to their mother, and because they traveled so much and I wanted to give them space as newlyweds, I decided to take some time away. That meant living with my brothers. I was really excited to have a family; I'd grown up alone because my papa was a travelling photographer, and I'd always wanted siblings. I'm sure you can imagine what it was like to find out that I was about to get thirteen of them.

I moved in, and for about one or two months, everything was normal. They were just like regular siblings. But then a few months after the wedding, there was a conflict."

She looked into her swirling cup of cocoa and took a deep sip, looking up to meet Kaito's eyes for the first time since she began speaking. "Before I go on, I need to bring up how we're not actually related, not even by marriage. I'm their adopted step-sister, so we can hardly be considered family... and because of that, it would be okay for us to..."

"For you to...? I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." Kaito's voice was solemn and soft, and hesitantly, almost reverently, he placed his hand over Ema's, and she squeezed it softly.

"Okay for us to date."

Understanding seemed to hit Kaito like a bolt of lightning, and his eyes widened. Ema continued quickly, trying to yank her hand free from Kaito's, but his grip had tightened, his face turning a sickly pale with the implications of what she had just said.

"A little while after the wedding, my brother Tsubaki..." she hesitated. "...confessed to me. And things just seemed to spiral downhill from there. It was Azusa and Natsume next, and then then most of them did it in some indirect way." Juli squeaked something to her. "Yes, and most of them don't think I know. But I do. I'm always hesitant to talk about it because it's a bit taboo, and it always upsets me because I wanted siblings so badly, but I never managed to get that."

"And you..."

"And that's why I never bring you over. They'll jump to conclusions, or they'll scare you or scare me."

Kaito's gaze dropped from hers, and he stared into the fire intently, his grip loosening lightly as his thumb traced soothing circles on the back of Ema's hand.

"And Yusuke...?"

"That's why he never talks to you. He's already jealous. I don't want to complicate things... Kaito, if this means you don't have feelings for me anymore-"

She cut off quickly, slapping her hand over her mouth as Juli squeaked his protest. Kaito's knee slammed against the table in shock, spilling cocoa all over the table. His face turned a bright red as he looked down and pressed his scarf to his cheek.

"What?" He squawked, flustered as he cleaned the spilled cocoa in panic. "I don't- I wouldn't even think of-"

He looked up between his sputtering to see both Ema and Juli staring at him expectantly before he sighed in defeat. "How did you know?"

Juli squeaked to Ema, and she smiled kindly. "It was a little bit obvious."

He coughed nervously. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make things more complicated for you. I didn't think you knew, and if I knew about your family situation-"

"Then you wouldn't have been able to control anything. It's okay, I understand."

"I really hope this doesn't make things awkward between us. I'll give you all the time you need to sort out everything with your brothers, and even after that, if you don't return the feelings, I won't be expecting anything of you."

"Chii," Juli looked to her. "Maybe you should tell him..."

She looked at him, then back to Kaito. Then she looked at the table and gulped, steeling herself. "When did I ever say I don't?" she whispered quietly.

Kaito jerked again, spilling cocoa on the table once more. She laughed softly.

"What?" He asked in disbelief, hope shining in his eyes. More confidently this time, she smiled.

"When did I ever say I don't?"

An ear-to-ear grin broke out on his face and she giggled behind her hand, a blush staining her cheeks. Kaito coughed awkwardly, still smiling, albeit more controlled.

"That's-! Ah, I'm sorry, I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to do in this situation."

She laughed. "No, neither am I."

They sat in silence for a moment, each absorbing their new information happily. Then they caught each other's eyes again and burst out laughing once more.

"Ema, as great as this is," Kaito began, leaning back in his armchair and looking out the window at the falling snow, "What I said earlier still stands."

"What you said earlier?" Ema tilted her head.

"About waiting. Giving you any time you need to work things out with your brothers."

She smiled softly and carefully placed her hand in his, almost embarrassed. She gauged his reaction, pleased when he tightened his grip. "I appreciate that... and I'm sorry, but we can't be together yet."

He nodded solemnly. "I thought you'd say something like that."

"It doesn't mean I don't want to. I just... I don't know if I can go behind their backs like that. And even if I did, I don't know if I'd be able to do it without their suspicion. So I'd need time to tell them. You... you won't say anything about this to Yusuke, at school?"

He looked at her, startled. "Of course not. I don't even talk to Yusuke." He smiled, and her heart fluttered in glee.

They sat together like that, and Juli curled up next to where their hands intertwined. They watched the snow falling quietly until the cafe was illuminated by the streetlights, children playing outside and lovers strolling on the sidewalks. Ema let her eyes drift from the white blanket outside to the warm scene inside, where her hand was tangled in his, Juli slept happily beside them, and Kaito's eyes were closed in carefree serenity. Bliss welled up from inside her, and she closed her eyes with the rest of them, basking in the warmth of those who cared about her.

She'd gotten what every girl deserved.

 _To love and be loved._

* * *

 **Sorry about the late update! I definitely don't plan on abandoning this story. I just had serious writer's block, and wrote only about a paragraph a day. I hope you guys don't find the development to be moving too quickly; I didn't want to drag on for too long, and I'd pretty much lain out what I needed in the plot in the first couple chapters.**

 **As per usual, please review! Updates should be a bit quicker.**


	5. Clique

**Yeesh, I haven't been on this story in forever. Anywho, here's the next chapter! I also don't think I'm gonna do anymore prologues from here on out. They're killing my motivation. Also, a couple of OCs are going to be introduced in this chapter, but they probably play a very big part in the rest of the story unless you guys want them to.**

* * *

A huff left Yusuke as he took one look at his sister and her _friend_ sitting across the room.

He would be lying to himself to say he wasn't jealous. The two of them spent, it seemed, nearly every waking moment together, talking and laughing. She didn't even sit at his and Fuuto's lunch table anymore (much to the chagrin of both boys), instead choosing to join Kaito and the band of friends the two of them had made together. He would watch the two of them laughing with their clique, and after weeks of watching Kaito shamelessly began flirting with her, Yusuke had had enough. He stood straight up from the lunch table, shamefully sporting his meal in his hand and a blush on his face, and went to eat outside in the freezing, snowy courtyard.

That was how Fuuto found him: grinding his knuckles into his other hand, nose almost touching his rice, and muttering _'stupid, stupid, stupid'_ over and over again into his food.

"What are you doing out here, stupid? Trying to catch a cold? It'll be your fault if I get a fever standing out here with you, you know."

"Then go back inside," Yusuke grumbled.

"Yeesh, you're even more of an idiot than I thought. As dumb as you are, and as much as I hate you, you're still blood. I'll have to tell Masa-nii later that you made a fool of yourself in the middle of the entire lunchroom."

"Wha—?! You little punk!" Yusuke accused, standing up and glaring at Fuuto.

"Ah, that's more like it. Now, tell me what happened back there."

"Don't tell me you didn't see it. They were sitting there with their entire gang, all of them acting like they owned the universe."

"So Neesan's made some new friends, and you can't be a part of their posse because they're all too good for you. Quit crying over it." Fuuto deadpanned, plunking into the seat beside Yusuke.

"Well, I don't see _you_ joining them!"

"I could if I wanted. Neesan loves me, after all."

"Spoiled brat..." Yusuke grumbled under his breath, but eventually put his head in his hands in defeat. "That's not it, though."

Genuine concern flickered across Fuuto's face for a fleeting moment. "Aah, what the hell happened?"

"I still can't believe you didn't see it."

"Tell me already!"

Yusuke sighed, and turned to his brother with a scowl. "That Kaito kid. You didn't see him flirting with Hinata?"

Fuuto's eyes widened, his breath hitching. "What? I wasn't paying attention; I was being flocked with girls! He was flirting?"

"Yeah. He was going at it with pick-up line after pick-up line, and all she did was laugh. She even flirted back a little bit."

"You're lying."

"I'm not!" Yusuke defended, and hesitantly added, "Though I wish I was. That kid was unstoppable. He was being arrogant about it too, as if she had a crush on him."

Fuuto harrumphed, running his fingers through his hair. "The nerve..."

The two sat in grudging silence, each pondering over what Yusuke had said. Finally, Fuuto stood, throwing a half-hearted smirk at his brother. "I need to get inside. I might get a sore throat. And you know that I need to take care of these vocal cords, ne?"

With that, the boy chuckled and made his way inside, taking a detour through the lunchroom and casually glancing at his sister as he passed her table.

Yusuke, it seemed, had not been wrong.

* * *

Ema giggled sweetly, a blush spreading across her face as Kaito flashed one more dimpled smile and cheekily tossed another carefree, flirty joke her way. Their friends roared with laughter, and she almost couldn't hear her own response— but they all did, and that sent them into waves of fresh glee.

"Oh, the two of you are too cute!" Kiyomi, the sweet-faced blonde girl with whom Kaito had partnered up for the first project, sighed in bliss. "I still don't understand why the two of you don't just get together already; you both obviously like each other."

It was just like Kiyomi to be so straightforward; the girl, who had been infatuated with Kaito when they had first met, eventually let her good nature accept his feelings for Ema. The three of them remained close friends, adopting more and more people into their camaraderie till Ema could have sworn they had someone from every type of friend-group imaginable.

But she wouldn't have it any other way; almost two months after she and Kaito had confessed their feelings for one another, her small, restrained, family-exclusive social life had grown to include the mix-and-match pack she'd grown to know and love. Their crew consisted of everyone from the muscle-bound sports buffs, to the most petite, paint-splattered artists, to the handy mechanic who could fix just about anything. And they all loved and protected each other like family, holding each other together like glue.

Granted, Ema oftentimes felt guilt for leaving her brothers to their own devices. But she knew that they'd be welcomed with open arms. There was only one thing she worried about: their reaction to Kaito.

After the two had made their mutual feelings known, he had begun to flirt with her harmlessly, and as she blossomed under the encouraging smiles of her friends and the sweet gaze of Kaito, she found herself returning the gesture. And she was still careful, never doing so outside the safety of her group.

While most of her friends didn't know the entirety of her family situation, they all respected her enough to understand that Kaito and Ema's almost-relationship was to be kept secret.

Which was why Kaito playfully elbowed Kiyomi in her side after her declaration. "You know better than to shout something like that out loud."

"Ow," she hummed. "That hurt. But I deserved that, I guess."

"Ah, cut her a bit of slack. It's not like anybody heard, eh, Ema-chan?" Mitsuo, a herculean, towering boy, caught the small girl in a headlock, muscles rippling in his arms as he ruffled her hair while she laughed helplessly in his grip.

"You're gonna break her neck!" Kiyomi cried, and lightly tugged Mitsuo from Ema.

"Eh, sorry. Isn't it time we get to class now?" Mitsuo suggested.

"Probably," Kaito agreed, hefting up his bag and offering his hand to Ema. "Last thing we want is to be late."

The flock all stood, laughing and rough-housing down the halls to their next hours, and as Ema entered her classroom, she felt a fond smile growing on her face.

* * *

The school bell rung at the end of the day, and Yusuke stood outside, smoothing down his clothes and inconspicuously flattening down his hair as he waited for his sister to emerge. And she came, Fuuto in tow and her friends waving their goodbyes. They unceremoniously slid into the car, the silence between them all tense and uncomfortable.

"What had you laughing today?" Yusuke turned to her, russet eyes alight with false nonchalance. But Fuuto knew better, and when Ema looked at her red-haired brother in surprise, the pop star butt in:

"What he means to say is, 'were you flirting with Kaito today?'"

Ema's quickly flushed, trying to stammer out a reply while Yusuke made a noise of indignation. But both boys waited for their sister's answer, and when it came, she just simply said,

"I wasn't. Did it look like I was?"

And with that, she looked out the window, chastising herself for not being more careful and hoping that her two companions would believe her.

They didn't.

* * *

 **Ok, so for those of you wondering, _yes_ this will still be an Ema/Asahina story. I just find it really important to let her character open up and bloom a bit, because let's be honest, if she were to go into a relationship with one of the brothers at this point, she would never come out of her shell. Hence the friends; it's a big thing for me that she expands her horizons, and I do believe that with Kaito, her friend group and her comfort zone would definitely expand. I think I might make a bonus chapter at the end of the story with profiles for her friends.**

 **EDIT: Because I have gotten _a lot_ of PMs and reviews asking me to pair Ema up with Kaito in the end, there is officially a poll in my profile for the end ship. I am also counting PMs and non-anonymous reviews that I get that explain _why_ you want Ema to end up with so-and-so (I won't be counting reviews that just say "Kaito" or "Iori" or "insert-name-here.")**

 **As usual, please review (and vote)!**


	6. Celestial

**Thanks to all of you who reviewed in the previous chapter. Please read the author's note at the end of this page. Also, you might want to read Yusuke's descriptions of Ema's friends, otherwise you'll be a bit confused in the second half of the chapter.**

* * *

"Well," Masaomi sighed, standing from the couch and pulling the thermometers from his brothers' mouths in one fluid motion. "You're sick, alright. Although I have no idea why it's only you two, while Ema's perfectly fine. You managed not to pass it on to her. Are you sure you didn't spend any extra time outside the other day? Eat anything different recently?"

Fuuto hacked a nasty cough and scowled at his eldest brother. "Ask _him_! He's the reason losing money right now! I can't even speak properly, let alone sing, all because I was spending my time out in the snow!"

Masaomi raised a warning brow at the young star, before turning it on Yusuke.

"Did you _drag_ him outside?"

"No!" Yusuke defended. "I was outside and then that brat followed me. Any sickness of his is his own fault."

"Well how could I not follow you? You made a fool of yourself in the lunchroom and I had to make you fix it, because unfortunately we're related."

"And I had a good reason to."

"To make a fool of yourself? I'll say."

"That's enough," Masaomi chastised gently. "Yusuke, why didn't Ema follow you? I'd expect that more of her than Fuuto."

Fuuto grumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse, and earned another stony gaze from the doctor. Masaomi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Both of you do realize how strange this looks, right?"

And it was true. As Masaomi said it, he cast a glance at Tsubaki, snickering behind the kitchen counter as he grabbed a snack. Azusa smacked his triplet on the back of the head, nabbing a chip from the bag. Tsubaki only grinned to see them watching him, and sat at the table, phone in one hand and chips in the other, while Azusa took a seat opposite where Subaru sat with a sports magazine. Masaomi shook his head fondly before turning back to his patients, eyes filled with curiosity.

"I mean it, you two," he smiled, voice leaving no room for argument. "This really is a strange occurrence. I don't doubt that you two care for each other—" here, he waited for them to finish snickering. "—but Fuuto, you caring about something happening to Yusuke more than Ema cares does raise a red flag. Is everything alright between the three of you?"

Fuuto shrugged. "It's nothing. It'll probably blow over soon anyway. She'll get annoyed with him—"

"Annoyed with who?" Fully at attention, Masaomi leaned forward to hear what his brother had to say.

"With that Kaito kid," Yusuke growled, the name like a curse on his tongue.

"He's been flirting with her like nobody's business, and she's been humoring him," Fuuto cut in, feigning boredom. "But Neesan'll get tired of him soon enough."

Masaomi shook his head, almost like he didn't believe it. The other three spectators sitting in the dining room were listening now, eyes wide and intent. "I don't understand," Masaomi frowned. "What does this have to do with you getting sick? And I'd like to hear this story from Yusuke, please," he added as Fuuto opened his mouth.

"Well," Yusuke mused. "We were sitting at lunch. I'm sure you know about all of Hinata's new friends."

The blank gazes from all but Fuuto in the room told Yusuke otherwise. Nevertheless, he cleared his throat in embarrassment and continued. "Well, they're there."

"Are they good kids?" Azusa butted in from the dining room, no longer caring about eavesdropping.

Yusuke shrugged. "I don't know. They're not _my_ friends."

"So... she's stopped spending time with you in favor of these others." Subaru said slowly, and Yusuke hesitantly nodded.

Tsubaki's voice was more urgent, more prying than his brothers'. "Tell us more."

Yusuke took a deep breath and closed his eyes in concentration, ticking off the list on his fingers.

"There's Akiyama Kiyomi, who's one of her closest friends. Tsukada Mitsuo, who's on the baseball, wrestling, basketball, _I don't even know what_ _else_ teams. Jinnouchi Asami, one of the schools best artists; Oshiro Katsu, that quiet third-year who can speak seven languages; Kajiwara Rei and Ryota, these second-year twins who carry around toolboxes and fix pretty much every technical issue the school has; Tamatsuki Tamotsu, who makes the best food you've ever tasted... and then there's Niikura Momoko, Kaneko Jirou, Okano Eiji, Wakata Yumi, Utsuno Sayuri, and a lot of others that I can't name. And of course there's _Hashira_ _Kaito_."

"When did she even make all these friends?" Masaomi wondered.

"They've pretty much been flocking to her and that brat these past two months," Fuuto replied, rolling his eyes. Before his two younger brothers could go on throwing hate at this apparently evil boy, Masaomi turned back to Yusuke.

"You were talking about how you got sick because of Hashira Kaito."

Yusuke grunted. "Yeah. As I was saying, we were at lunch, and her friends seem rather elitist, if you ask me. They were all sitting with her at their lunch table, and they were laughing at something. I was sitting in my class section, and since their table is so close to mine, I couldn't help but overhear. Actually, these past few _weeks_ I couldn't help but overhear."

"And they were talking about...?" Masaomi urged gently.

"Nothing. They were hardly talking about anything. Nobody could get a word in because they were all laughing so hard and joking around. Most of them were just laughing at Hashira and Hinata. He was flirting with her."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop twenty degrees, and the boys at the kitchen table moved to sit with the rest of their brothers and listen to the rest of Yusuke's story.

"How long has this been going on?" Azusa asked, gaze steely. "Only the other day?"

Yusuke shook his head. "He's been hitting on her these past few weeks. Billions of corny pickup lines. He never quits, but she doesn't seem to mind. That's why I left; I was getting..." Yusuke paused, face turning red as he struggled to find the right word. "... _annoyed_ by it. So I went outside, and that's where Fuuto found me. Because I was sick of listening to him flirt with her constantly."

"Did she flirt back?"

The new voice made them all jump, and they looked up to find Natsume and Ukyo poised at the top of the stairs, seemingly having heard every word. It was Natsume who spoke, his knuckles white from squeezing the railing. Yusuke and Fuuto exchanged a glance.

"Sure looked like it," Yusuke answered, his voice filled with pain.

"You must be misreading things," Tsubaki finally concluded. "You said so yourself earlier, Fuuto. She's just humoring him."

The sentiment did nothing to ease their minds.

* * *

On the grass beside a gently meandering river two towns away, a large group of friends laughed and chatted among themselves, unaware of the conversation going on in Ema's home and the fact that they were being discussed. The artist of the group laid out a large picnic blanket. The cuisinier spread out the meal he'd put together for his friends. The pair of technician twins tinkered with a remote control airplane, flying it through the park while onlookers applauded.

"Okay, okay," Mitsuo said, tossing up and catching a baseball. "Who wants to go for a swim later?"

"Mitsuo, you idiot," replied the quiet Katsu, his eyes sparkling with something that only those close to him could recognize as a smile. "None of us brought our swimsuits."

Ema, who'd been watching her group's antics with a small, sweet smile, gently nudged Katsu, and addressing Mitsuo fondly, she said, "He's right, you know."

At this, Mitsuo frowned. "But there's nothing to do."

"It's not like _we're_ here or anything," piped Kiyomi, pausing from her eating to smirk at him. "If you're so bored, how about you talk to one of us instead of playing catch with yourself?"

Kaito snorted and bumped Ema with his shoulder. "What do you say, Em? Want to go for a swim?"

She frowned, but the corners of her lips pursed up in a hidden smile at the implication. "Kaito, you've already told me the story of when you threw your sister into the river. That's exactly what you said before you did it; I'm not falling for that."

He groaned playfully and fell onto his back, pulling her down with him while she sleepily curled into his side. The sun was beginning to set, and lights along the river's sidewalk flickered to life one by one. Slowly, the group began to quiet, just as content to lie on their backs with Kaito and Ema as they were to tease and play. A few began to doze off, the reflection of stars still twinkling in their smiling eyes and staying painted there beneath closing eyelids. They were in their own little pocket of the universe. These were Ema's favorite times: only her and her friends, not a single care in the world as they dreamed in harmony. Soon, there were no sounds but the soft, deep breathing of those in slumber, the gentle whir of Rei and Ryota's remote control plane; and Katsu, his finger pointed at the sky as he quietly explained the constellations to a wonderstruck Mitsuo.

They were all the picture of young, innocent serenity, their legs tangled together and their hair splayed out behind them, long blonde mixing with short black mixing with ponytailed brown. Kaito stirred, never having been truly asleep, and sat up before placing a gentle kiss on Ema's temple, a gesture the two had recently grown fond of.

"I'm going to go get some ice cream," he said softly, careful not to wake those of his friends who slept. "There's a store just down the road that sells them party-size. I'll get some for everyone. Strawberry for you, right?"

Ema nodded as he stood and skillfully navigated the tangled labyrinth of lazy bodies and peaceful faces. Her eyes traveled to him, admiring his tall, generous form as he stretched the sleep from his bones; he nearly reminded her of Kaname, arms extended to the sky in prayer. Yet Kaito looked more holy in that moment than Ema had ever seen her brother, the heavens twinkling on the river that lapped at the edges of their picnic blanket, the distant silhouette of trees forming a divine congregate: singing birds in the distance were the holy choir, and the lone, warbling owl was the reverent priest. And Kaito was the deity they exalted, one with the earth and sky. Ema couldn't tell where his outline stopped and nature began.

Her face turned pink at the direction of her thoughts, and Kaito turned to her, dimples winking mischievously as though he knew the depth of her admiration for his body. And that small action reminded her of what he was, took away any glorification she'd dreamed up only moments before; he was just a simple boy. Not a god, not a deity, not a holy being. He was just a boy who loved her with the beauty of a forever-blooming flower; a boy who loved her enough where buying her an ice cream was as natural a part of him as the heart that beat for her, as the eyes that admired her, as the breath that hitched at the sound of her voice.

Somehow, she was more glad for this version of him than the celestial one.

* * *

Kaito patiently awaited the two tubs of ice cream that he'd ordered, his thumb nimble along the screen of his phone.

"Are there any toppings you'd like with your order?"

He looked up at the server behind the counter, startled. "Sorry, what?"

The woman laughed and pointed at the row of candies, fruits, and nuts behind her. "I can get you some containers of toppings to bring back as well."

"Oh!" Kaito scratched the back of his neck with a sheepish laugh. "How much extra will it be?"

"Only a hundred yen for five," the server answered.

"Sure," he nodded contemplatively. "I'll text my friends first, see what they'd like me to bring back. Can you put a hold on my order, please?"

The server nodded and tucked away his ice cream into a fridge while Kaito sat, pulling up Ema in his contacts list and firing off a text to her asking for the toppings she wanted, signing off with their standard " _love u :) -k_."

* * *

Two towns over in Sunrise Residence, ten of the thirteen Asahina brothers paused from their late dinner, curiously turning their gazes to their sister's forgotten cell phone when it buzzed at the end of the table.

* * *

 **Alright, so I've edited the last chapter to include this announcement, but for you only reading this now, I've received very many PMs asking for Ema to end up with Kaito. So there is officially a poll on my profile where you can vote for the end pairing. The two other things I will be counting as votes will be PMs I receive and reviews that _explain_ _why you want Ema to end up with whoever._ I won't be counting reviews that just state a name.**

 **Additionally, I'm also considering making a companion piece to this story, each chapter being a oneshot pertaining to Ema and her friends. I might also write alternate endings for any of the boys who doesn't end up with Ema. These are only _ifs_ at this point, though, so please, please, _please_ let me know what you would think of stories like these!**

 **Lastly, I'm considering getting a beta. Please message me if you're interested.**

 **Anyway, I've mostly got the ball rolling on this story! Big shoutout to unwonted, whose thoughtful review motivated me to _finally_ write the last couple of paragraphs on this chapter. This chapter probably wouldn't be up yet if I hadn't received that review. Additionally, please let me know if there's anything you'd like to see. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.**

 **As usual, review and vote!**


	7. Veracity

**Thank you for the kind reviews! Here is Chapter 7.**

* * *

It wasn't until later that night that Kaito returned to his friends, hoisting two tubs of ice cream with five containers of toppings slung round his arm. Most of them were still asleep, having begun to snore under the protection of the large group. Some had awoken, tranquil yet attentive under the lullaby that was Katsu's voice whispering the constellations to Mitsuo. The rest were dancing on nimble legs as though in a drunken stupor. But everyone's ears pricked when the boy called out into the circle:

"I brought ice cream!"

Kaito settled the tubs onto a nearby picnic table and laid out the toppings while Ema stood beside him, tucking her hands into the ends of her sleeve with a kind half-smile.

"You brought toppings, too."

"I did," he laughed. "I didn't know you liked toffee sprinkles." He cocked his head curiously at her.

Confused, Ema looked up at him, eyes doe-like. "Huh?"

Now it was Kaito's turn to look confused, lips parting in question. "Toffee sprinkles."

"What about them?"

"I always thought your favorite topping was strawberry."

Ema's brow furrowed, her lips pointed down. "My favorite topping _is_ strawberry."

"But... you texted me and told me it was toffee sprinkles."

Ema shook her head vigorously. "I fell back asleep after you left. Wait... now that I think about it, where _is_ my phone?"

Kaito sighed. "Mitsuo!"

"Mmpf?" the boy in question scampered to them like a friendly puppy, a spoon of ice cream in his mouth. "You called?"

"Give it."

Confused, Mitsuo gestured to his ice cream.

"Not that, stupid, Ema's phone."

Mitsuo's lower lip jutted out in thought before he shook his head. "I don't have it. I'm serious! I don't. I don't even have pockets, and I was asleep this past hour."

With that, he shrugged, offered them a bite of his ice cream, and returned to where the group gathered, leaving behind a very confused Kaito and Ema. The girl dug a hand through the pockets of her sundress, while the boy checked the grass near the blanket, but the phone was nowhere to be found.

"Hm." Kaito frowned. "Who was it who texted me, then?"

Ema retraced her steps. She'd woken up that morning, helped Ukyo with the breakfast, then dropped in with Masaomi to let him know she'd be at the park the rest of the day. Then he'd told her that Yusuke and Fuuto might be sick, to which she'd run downstairs to check on them... then she'd promised them lunch and had left to make soup... and she'd lain down her phone in the process...

Her eyes widened in realization and panic, causing Kaito to step in front of her and bend down to her eye level. "Are you alright?"

But she absentmindedly waved her hand, still trapped in thought. After she'd finished hot ginger soup for her brothers, her friend Tamotsu had knocked at the door to pick her up in his giant car where the rest of her friends were waiting, and in her excitement, she'd quickly run to her room to pick up her purse. But she _knew_ she slipped her phone into the pocket.

She quickly scooped up her purse and rummaged through it, groaning as a small, heavy box caught her grip.

It was the pink handheld gaming console that Natsume had bought her for her birthday.

"You found it?" Kaito asked from behind her. Instead she blew a strip of hair away from her face.

"No... I accidentally packed my game instead of my phone."

Kaito snickered, and she threw him a half-hearted reprimanding look. "What are you going to do now? Now that you left it with your brothers, I mean."

Her breath caught in her throat. "Oh, no."

"Huh?"

"It's with my brothers. I don't have a password on it... can I see your phone, Kaito?"

He hurriedly handed her his own model, and she pressed her thumb to the home button. It unlocked for her, and she made haste to her contact in it, scrolling through the conversation that Kaito had thought he was having with her.

She numbly sat in the grass, and he knelt beside her, shaking her shoulder gently. "Are you alright?"

"This wasn't me... this is Tsubaki's texting style."

* * *

When Ema's phone had buzzed at the table, the silence turned thick and awkward as each brother waited for another to make a move. At last, Tsubaki had stood, swiping the phone and turning his back to his brothers as he read the front screen: _New message from Kaito_. One hand stuffed itself into his pocket, and the other flipped the phone open and quickly scrolled through the messages with a scowl.

"You shouldn't be doing that," Natsume warned, but it was half-hearted and left unheeded by his triplet.

Hikaru leaned forward curiously, a smirk in his eyes but not on his lips. "Well...?" he purred, every inch the seducer he dressed to be.

Tsubaki sat back down, violet eyes narrowed in annoyance. "It's Hashira Kaito."

"And he said...?"

"' _Getting ice cream, was offered toppings. Which ones do you want? Love you, 'K._ '"

" _Love you?_ " Fuuto scoffed, his voice nasal from his illness yet still filled with the same scorn it always had when talking about the young man and his sister. "Respond with, ' _never talk to me again_.'"

"No," Masaomi shot him a look. "Tsubaki, put down that phone."

"Hold on a minute," Tsubaki said, fingers dancing across the keyboard. At last with a triumphant smirk, he smacked the phone into Masaomi's waiting hand. "There. I told him she liked toffee sprinkles."

Azusa sighed. "You know she hates toffee. You're so immature."

The phone buzzed again, and Masaomi's gaze dropped to the front screen. "It's him again."

"He just doesn't know when to quit, does he?" Kaname shook his head. "What did he say now?"

Masaomi slipped the phone into his pocket, lips pursed; as much as he wanted to look at the new message, it felt wrong to invade their sister's privacy more than they already had. "It's none of our business. We'll give it back to her later."

Beside him, Wataru pouted. "Is Oneechan going to leave us?"

Masaomi shook his head fiercely at his littlest brother. "No, Ema-chan's just..."

"Spending time with other people," Ukyo offered weakly, and Masaomi nodded.

"Yes, that's right. Spending time with other people."

Wataru's brow furrowed, frown deepening, and he made a moaning noise as he rested his chin on the table. "But if she spends time with that boy, then won't she stop spending time with us? Are you just going to let her stop spending time with us? I don't want her to stop! We never see her anymore because she's out every weekend... what if something happens to her when she's gone...?"

It had never occurred to the brothers till then just how often their sister was out recently. But only the week before, Natsume had invited her to his company's video game convention; she had declined, saying that she was going to the mall with her friends. And the week before that, Ukyo had asked for her input on the dates of the family vacation, and she had told him that she was busy for the better part of June for a beach trip.

Yet they never realized just how big of a role her new friends played in her life, or that one of those friends may have felt something more for her.

Suddenly, Wataru's fears felt far more founded.

Sighing in defeat, Masaomi tossed the phone to a surprised Tsubaki. "Read it aloud."

"He said, ' _didn't know you liked toffee._ '"

Yusuke snorted. "Yeesh, the kid really doesn't know her at all, does he? Of course she hates toffee."

It was hushed after that, the only sound being Tsubaki tapping out his response of ' _of course i do, heheh~_ ". The phone didn't buzz again after that, so Tsubaki tossed it back to Masaomi, who stared blankly out the window.

"Now what?" Kaname asked, voice heavy and tired.

But there was no answer.

* * *

"We need to go."

The epiphany had effectively struck the fear of God (or rather, _thirteen overprotective brothers_ ) into Kaito. He'd sprung to his feet and helped up Ema, who was just as eager to get to her phone as Kaito was. He quickly began packing up blankets and baskets, hoisting them into Tamotsu's car while Ema rounded up their friends.

"It's time to leave," she said in a rush. "Those of us who rode with Tamotsu, Kaito's packing up and then you can go. Mitsuo, can you please get everyone who rode with you and get them home?

The two boys who'd carpooled the group in their two cars exchanged confused glances.

"Everything alright?" Tamotsu asked while Ema busily helped Kaito pack up their dinner.

"No," Ema confessed. "There's a problem at home. Do you mind dropping me off first?"

He nodded vigorously, and the group split, half of them climbing into Mitsuo's car and the rest loading into the other. Ema found herself back in the front seat of Tamotsu's four-wheeler, subject to her friend's concerned, chocolate-brown gaze as he began the forty-five minute drive to the Asahina household.

As they sped down the highway, Ema felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned and found herself staring into the large, matching green eyes of Rei and Ryota, their messy curls of brown hair mixing together like a painting. Rei's hands rested atop the remote control plane in her lap, and Ryota had leaned over his twin to get his friend's attention. Ema blinked at the same time they did.

"Are you okay?" Ryota whispered, his normally-brassy voice soft and concerned.

"Why'd we have to leave so suddenly?" Rei added as she extracted a screwdriver from her belt and adjusted the wing of her toy.

Ema sighed and studied the pair, moving her gaze to the back of the car where half of her friends were huddled, whispering amongst themselves. The only light was the quick flashes as they passed the overhead streetlights, glaring harshly through the car windows in rhythm. They made even her dearest friends look like murderers from a horror movie, eyes wide and glinting every time she could see well enough to make out their dark, eerie forms. It was a terrifying contrast to the peaceful scene from earlier, and it sent shivers spider-walking up her spine.

She wondered how _she_ looked to _them_ , how badly the lamps reflected off the tears that pooled like a mirror.

At last, she placed her hand atop Rei's, forcing a smile onto her face. "It's nothing you need to worry about."

She sensed, not saw, Tamotsu's jaw tightening, his fists clenching over the steering wheel in silent disapproval. With a frown, she turned to him.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing _you_ need to worry about, at least."

Somewhere behind them, Kiyomi rolled her eyes with a muttered, "Jerk." Ema ignored it, silently wishing that Kaito wasn't in Mitsuo's car, but in hers.

"If you're going to be angry with me..."

"Not angry, Ema. Only tired." _Tired of secrets, tired of worrying._

His fists unclenched and one hand removed itself from the steering wheel, dropping to his side and making stirring motions. The movement only proved his words; Ema knew that in Tamotsu's mind, he had retreated to the kitchen to bake a cake or cook a gourmet dish. The last thing he wanted was to be with them in that car, having that conversation. So he escaped.

The others in the car noticed the nervous tick the same moment Ema did and fell silent, not wanting to anger the driver. But Ema swallowed and brought her knees up to her chest. Eyeing her friend sadly, she sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

There wasn't a soul in that car who knew the story of Ema's brothers except Kiyomi and Ema herself. The two friends exchanged a glance. Everyone else in the car had leaned back, fatigued, as Kiyomi and Ema conversed silently with their gazes. Yet somehow, the cerulean in Kiyomi's eyes was so dull, so lonely.

Suddenly, the passing streetlights didn't make her friends look so horrific. Only sad.

Ema hadn't realized that there had been anything missing in their dynamic until that moment. It was only Kaito and Kiyomi who knew why she was so secretive about her brothers. The sudden revelation hurt her; what could the rest of her friends possibly have felt? She trusted them all with her life, and yet she couldn't even end their concern by telling them of her brothers. She'd unknowingly divided her own group into two pieces: the piece that knew, and the piece that didn't. And they'd all accepted it, not allowing their hurt to get in the way of anything.

As if she knew what Ema was thinking, Kiyomi nodded and handed Ema her own phone, Kaito's number already set for a text. Ema took it with thick resolve, texting two simple words to him.

* * *

Kaito's phone beeped and lit up, signaling a text as they passed Tamotsu's car. He could see Ema's face illuminated by the soft glow of her phone as she hunched in the passenger's seat, a sad look in her eyes and a slight curl to her lips.

"What is it?" Mitsuo asked, curious, but Kaito's eyes had already widened in shock as he read the text to himself over and over again. Though the text was simple, the meaning was clear.

 _Tell them._

* * *

Tamotsu's car was hushed save for Ema's whispers. She clutched Kiyomi's hand tightly, her voice choked with a story rarely spoken.

She told them everything.

She could see Mitsuo's car in the lane next to them; it was easy to tell that Kaito had done as she had asked. Through the window, Mitsuo clutched the steering wheel in agony, and she could make out Kaito's form as his lips broke the story of her brothers to their friends. In her own car, everyone sat in rapture, eyes glazed. But she knew they were listening.

It was reminiscent of the way she told Kaito. She'd only brought up how it would have been okay for her to date her brothers, and they'd put together the pieces. Shocked, they'd sat, stunned, before they each quietly asked her their questions, which she answered the best she could. She wiped her tears.

Ryota, saying nothing, tucked Ema away into the crook of his neck, an anguished embrace which did mountains in comforting the girl. She clutched his shirt and sobbed softly. Her tears darkened the burgundy of his metal-scented flannel.

"I don't know what to do," she hushed. "I don't know what to do."

* * *

When the headlights of Tamotsu's giant truck lit up the driveway of the residence, Masaomi was already waiting in the threshold. His gaze was somber as Ema scampered, hair disheveled and shirt untucked, to retrieve her phone. Wordlessly, he had offered it to her, letting his hand linger in hers when she took it. He had trudged to his study, silent, while Ema wandered into the dark living area, the only source of light the reflection of the television in her brothers' uninterested eyes. When the eyes turned to her almost accusitorially, she retreated to her room, flipping open her phone and reading Tsubaki's texts to Kaito on repeat while she sank to the bed.

Juli's head tilted curiously as he read the texts over her shoulder, fur standing on end.

"Wha—?! That brother texted Hashira, pretending to be _you_?"

Ema murmured her affirmation, and Juli nearly scampered out to claw Tsubaki's eyes from his face. But a smack on the window made both of them pause, and Ema hummed a small sound of confusion while Juli sat up. Then both of them sprang to their feet in alarm, rushing to the window quickly.

Kaito dangled there, a strained, lopsided grin plastered on his face. And when Ema leaned over the balcony, she could witness Mitsuo and Kiyomi, along with most of her other friends, straining to get a ladder right-side-up.

"Kaito!"

"Shh! Help me up, help me up, help me up!"

Ema hoisted him over the edge of the balcony and onto the hardwood floor, muttering a soft "oompf" when their foreheads bounced off one another. He hovered on all fours over her for a moment, catching his breath, before letting out a muffled, closed-mouth scream of terror.

"Alright," he muttered. "I almost died."

"Kaito," Ema whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"Sh, Em. I almost died. Let me recuperate."

She stood, shivering, before running back inside to wrap one of her blankets around his quaking form. Ema leaned over to see the source of the commotion, and with a clang and a grace akin to a tortoise, Mitsuo slid onto the balcony face-first, Kiyomi, Katsu, and Ryota appearing directly after him. Ema jumped back, startled, and Juli squeaked indignation as the heap of Ema's friends only grew when they popped from the top of the ladder like a well-oiled machine.

"Kaito," Mitsuo prodded. "Kaito, are you mad at me?"

" _No_ ," Kaito drawled, his voice oozing sarcasm.

"What's going on here?" Ema inquired, and Kaito pecked a kiss on her cheek before slipping into her room and flinging himself onto her bed like a flying squirrel.

"This was supposed to be a supply mission," Kaito answered, his voice muffled by her pillow. "And Mitsuo was holding the ladder. But then he accidentally let go and I hardly caught myself on the balcony."

"The fall wouldn't have killed you," Mitsuo mumbled. Rei was the last to climb over the edge of the balcony, and she pulled the ladder with her to collapse it. Ema's eyes adjusted, and she could see that plastic bags dangled from many of her friends' arms. They packed into her room and piled their offerings on top of Kaito, who moaned lazily atop the bed.

Meanwhile, Ema stood on her tiptoes and peeked out her bedroom window into the living room window, noting that the television was off and that her friends, obscured by the darkness, were successful in sneaking in without disturbing her brothers.

"A supply mission?" she whispered, and quickly they started unpacking.

"We felt bad about cornering you into telling us about your brothers," Tamotsu whispered. "So we brought you gifts. It was Kaito's idea. Anyway, here are the leftovers from tonight. I also made you a couple pies."

"I got you a box of chocolates," Katsu whispered.

"Here's the remote plane we were working on," Rei and Ryota offered together.

"And I got you a voodoo doll," Mitsuo said, his voice too loud, and Katsu elbowed him in the side. Mitsuo frowned. "Anyway, you can make it anybody. If one of your brothers bothers you then you can turn it into him. And if we bother you, you can turn it into us. We won't be mad."

Ema giggled, her mood lifting. "What, like this?" She playfully tugged at the doll's leg, and Mitsuo faked a pained cry.

"Shh!" Kiyomi hissed, but her voice brimmed with fond laughter.

"Imouto-chan? Is that you?"

Everyone clamped their hands over their mouths, eyes wide and holding back mirth. Ema slowly unclasped her palm from her lips, making her voice as natural as she could. "Yes, it's me, Kaname-san."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just fell."

There was a pause of disbelief on the other side of the door, and Ema snuck to the peephole to see if he had gone. But before she could, Ryota's voice whispered, "Which one is Kaname?"

The responding shush was louder than the actual question itself. Snickers turned to giggles as Ema looked through the peephole, waving her hand at them to keep their voices down.

"I mean it, Kaname-san. I fell. Go to bed now."

"You don't want me coming in there with you?" His voice was flirty, but more strained than she remembered it. Still, she struggled not to giggle at the sight of Kaito mouthing Kaname's words back to her, exaggerated and mocking.

"I'm sure!" She grit out. "Good night."

"...good night, Imouto-chan."

The laughter broke free once they were sure that Kaname was out of earshot, and Ema smiled into her hand.

"I appreciate this. Really, I do. I'm lucky to have friends like you."

"It's nothing," Kiyomi said kindly. "We're here for you to help you get through this."

"And none of us blame you for what's happening with your brothers. Nor do we judge you for it." Katsu shoved his glasses back into place, laying a hand on Ema's shoulder. "We're glad you told us. We only get to help you better."

Ema sniffled, holding her gifts in her lap. "Thank you."

Rei smiled down at her. "We already said that it's nothing." Glancing at the clock on the wall, she grimaced. "It's getting late. Will you be alright if we leave?"

Ema nodded, and Rei beamed and squeezed her arms around her friends head in a quick hug. "We'll talk to you at school on Monday."

With that, she lowered the ladder to the ground and slid to the bottom, holding it for the rest of her friends who bade their goodbyes to Ema. At last, it was only Kaito left. The sudden quiet made her shuffle her feet.

"You'll really be alright?" Kaito asked with a smile. He peeled the blanket off himself and wrapped it around Ema's shoulders.

"I will." Ema paused. "Did you really bring them here?"

Kaito's smile seemed to illuminate the rest of the room with the moonlight as he nodded minutely. Ema's lips parted.

To her, it was a different kind of kiss. It wasn't her first, but she hoped it wouldn't be her last. It was surprisingly easy (absently she wondered if that was why her brothers kissed her so much); all she needed to do was to lean in and brush her mouth against his. He could feel her form beneath the blanket, quivering like butterfly wings, and his eyes widened for a moment. The fluttering sensation of their lips against the other's was heartbreakingly gentle, laced with innocence and coated with curiosity. And as soon as it happened, it was over, like a breeze rustling hair or a smile warming a heart.

They stood for a moment, the open window cooling the air around them as they blinked at one another, Kaito's gaze tilted down to meet hers.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. Heat rose to her face at her boldness, and she clutched the blanket more tightly around herself as she studied him from beneath long lashes.

He shook his head, dazed. "Don't be."

He studied her with his eyes glowing tenderly. He bent, kissing her once more with a soft kindness Ema couldn't be sure anyone else possessed. And he pulled away, waves of dark hair tickling the bridge of his nose. He chuckled and positioned himself at the ladder, smiling that crooked smile that Ema had ingrained so well in her own memory. She returned in kind, making her way to him and letting a lock of his hair slip between her fingers as she tucked it out of his face. He rested his chin and forearms on the balcony, eyes closing as he sighed.

"I should go. Or else Mitsuo will drop the ladder again."

"I understand," she said with a soft laugh. "Will you come find me on Monday?"

"I'll come find you on Monday," he responded emphatically, and began his descent.

Ema never wanted the night to end.

* * *

 **4,000+ words, let's give it up for 4,000+ words!**

 **Anyways, don't think that what's going on in the story so far is set in stone. Friendly reminder that the poll is still up, and whoever gets first will get the main ending, and whoever gets second will get the alternate ending (which will be posted in a separate story).**

 **After this, I'm going to get to work on the second part to Halcyon Pursuit, because who can't get enough of Ema expanding her horizons. ;)**

 **As always, please review!**

 **(Also, just a heads-up that "plz update soon" comments do the exact opposite, and make me lose motivation and want to update even more slowly. I'm a writer, not a genie.)**


	8. Tensions

**Thanks for being patient. :) As usual, I do not own/am not affiliated with BroCon.**

* * *

They were hovering.

Ema could feel their presence like little hummingbirds at the back of her senses. If she was in the kitchen, Ukyo was there to offer his help. If she was in the living room, Natsume was there to chat up a new game. If she was going to the store, Masaomi sent Wataru to tag along.

She wasn't sure whether to appreciate them trying to remain casual or to take offense at their poor attempts in doing so.

Monday came too slowly for the young Hinata, and she nearly tripped over herself getting downstairs and packing lunch for her brothers. After waving goodbye to the ones awake, she and Yusuke made their way to school. An awkward silence settled over the two, and she snuck guilty glances at him from behind her phone as he wandered through patches of morning light.

"Ahem. Final exams start next week. Are you ready?"

"Huh?" Ema looked up from her screen and flipped it shut when she heard her brother's voice. "Oh. Well, yes. I have a study group together..."

More silence.

"...would you like to join?"

"Wh— huh?!"

Ema cleared her throat and smiled weakly at him, almost regretting her question as soon as it left her lips— the same lips that had been on Kaito's only two nights before. "Well, you know Oshiro Katsu. He's a year above us; he's the smart one with the glasses. I asked him to help me with studying, and it looks like we all need his help. If you do, too, then you can join us."

Yusuke swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Aah. Yeah, I think I'll take you up on that offer. But... will your friends be alright having me there?"

And the images were clicking through Ema's mind: her friends under the harsh streetlights, eerily silent. Their group, huddled together and giggling on the floor of her bedroom with Kaname right outside the door. Kaito, eyes closed and face serene as she ran his fingers through his hair. She could almost imagine their faces when she told them she invited one of her brothers to their study group. Perhaps they'd be teasing. Perhaps they'd be angry. Perhaps they'd treat Yusuke differently.

But she nodded her head anyway, offering him a small smile.

"They'd love to have you."

* * *

" _Ehh?!_ "

The duet sounded in harmony as Ema's friends stared at her like she'd grown a second head. Kiyomi, from her spot perched at the edge of a bench, raised her hand to Ema's forehead as if to check for a fever.

"What do you mean, 'he's coming to our study group?'"

Ema sighed and clutched her books tighter. The only two friends who were at school so early were Katsu and Kiyomi, and Ema bemoaned the fact that she didn't simply tell them all at once during lunch.

"He's going to have to start thinking about college next year. I want to help him get a jump start with his finals this year. Do any of you mind?"

Katsu scoffed. "I don't know how you can expect me to teach him with a straight face. But I suppose I can manage if I try. I know firsthand how difficult the college search can be; even I need to take pity. Especially upon somebody with grades like his."

"Hey, that was mean!" Kiyomi huffed. "Am I bitter at him for helping those wolfish brothers make my dear Ema's life so tough? Maybe, but I'll tolerate him if she invited him, yeah?"

Katsu rolled his eyes fondly at the petite blonde, thumbing through the pages of a thick law book before Kiyomi perked up and leaned off the bench to nudge Katsu with her forehead. "Hey, speaking of college, you've picked one out already, right?"

"Of course."

"Oh, that's good!" Kiyomi chirped. "We're going to miss you next year, you know. I hope you plan on coming with us to the beach trip that Kaito's planning. Just so we can send you off properly."

Katsu hummed. "I'll come if Kaito can actually get the itinerary together and emailed."

"Oh!" Ema interrupted, and the two of them turned to look at her. "He messaged me the schedule last night. I'll send it to you two. Here, it looks like we're leaving on the sixth of June and coming back on the twentieth. He hasn't reserved the rooms yet since he wants to go through the RSVPs first."

"Are your brothers coming, Ema?" Kiyomi wondered, and Ema shook her head emphatically.

"No. They know I'm going on the trip, but I didn't think it would be a great idea to invite any of them. They'd be odd around all of us."

"That's fair," Katsu agreed, jerking his chin to gesture behind Ema. "Besides, we can't have them getting sadistic on _that one_."

"Hm?" Ema turned and immediately ducked her head with a blush— Kaito was striding towards them, a lazy grin painted on his features. He splayed himself across the bench when he reached them, his long body reclined like a panther in a tree.

"Good morning," he greeted, and Ema looked up from behind a curtain of hair to find his eyes trained on her intently, expectantly. They held their gazes for a few moments before Kaito swallowed and nodded at her. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm... fine. What about you?" Her voice came out more hushed than she intended, and she tried not to pant when his gaze dropped to her mouth.

"I'm alright," he murmured heatedly. Ema found her own attention drawn to where his lips parted, to how his teeth caught the tip of his tongue just enough to make those dimples appear, to the silent whisper of his ragged breath escaping through—

" _Ahem!_ "

It was like buckets of ice water slapped the pair out of their exchange and their eyes snapped back to Kiyomi, the source of the noise, who glared pointedly at each of them. "Look, I don't care about whatever it is that... _that_... was, but you might wanna watch it, unless you want those brothers of yours on your tail." She gestured to where Fuuto and Yusuke stood with a flock of girls near the entrance of the building, their backs to the scene that transpired.

Ema looked back at Kaito and realized that the two had gravitated closer together till there was hardly space between their faces. Heat rushed to her face and she jumped back and away.

Katsu raised a brow and snapped his book shut with a flick of his wrist. "Looks like we missed a lot over the weekend, hm? What was that about?"

Kaito mumbled something at Katsu and slung on his backpack. His lingering glance on Ema painted her cheeks pink as he sauntered into the school with a casual gait, eyes thoughtfully trained straight ahead.

* * *

Interactions with Kaito and Ema throughout the day sobered from their usual flirting to longing stares and ardor-laden whispers, much to the chagrin of their friends who didn't know what transpired in Ema's room as Kaito left. The two retreated to their classroom long before the others had finished eating, and Mitsuo turned to the group and pretended to gag as the pair left.

"Those two are being so lovey-dovey and stuff that it's kinda drivin' me crazy. Were they like that before?"

Rei ran her fingers through her hair, biting her lip devilishly. "Nope. Maybe something happened after we all left."

"Maybe he came back and ravished her that same night," Ryota added. Matching emerald eyes glinted above matching Cheshire grins while Mitsuo shrieked, and Kiyomi smacked her book on the twins' heads.

"You two, always suggesting something wicked," Kiyomi huffed, "and you know for a fact that wouldn't work out well for _either_ of them, yeah? One of them would chicken out."

" _You_ sound like you've been putting a lot of thought into this, Kiyomi." Ryota scowled and rubbed his head.

The girl in question shrugged. "Somebody has to reel everybody in. I swear, all of you force me to be a mother ahead of my years. It's unfair!"

"More like a grandmother," someone coughed, and Kiyomi shot a glare in the general direction of the offender— despite the fact it was likely Mitsuo, given his all-too-innocent expression. Nonetheless, she fluffed her hair and packed up her lunch, clucking her tongue at the group with a halfhearted frown.

"I mean it, you guys! You always— hey! _Guys!_ "

The bell rang, and Kiyomi shot up in shock as her friends fled from the table, relieved.

"Yikes," Ryota murmured to Rei as they rushed to their next class.

"Kiyomi's great and all, but..." Rei and Ryota shared a glance and shrugged, finishing their sentence in tandem.

"Her melodramatics kinda scare me!"

* * *

Ema drummed her pencil against the desk at the last hour of the day, staring at the clock impatiently. Each tick had her at the edge of her seat; their study group was meeting at Katsu's house after school and dragging Yusuke along for the ride. Because she would ride with Tamotsu, inevitably Kaito and Yusuke would as well, and she couldn't be certain on how well they'd get along. She wasn't sure she could trust either of them to be completely civil— would Kaito mock him with overdone etiquette? Would Yusuke turn gruff when talking to the boy? Perhaps she never should have invited her brother at all, because there were simply too many possibilities for the situation to turn sour—

Kaito brushed her hand with the back of his. She jumped and turned to him, startled. His head tilted curiously.

"You've been making weird faces. Are you doing alright?"

Oh! Yes." She turned her hand to take his in her own and gave his fingers a reassuring squeeze before letting go. "I'm okay. I was just wondering how the study group was going to turn out."

Kaito grimaced. "Right. I almost forgot your brother was coming along with us. I'll try to play nice."

Ema sighed. "Kaito, you _need_ to play nice. I remember you were making fun of Kaname when we were in my room, and it was funny, but Yusuke probably wouldn't be able to handle it."

The boy's eyes lit up with mischief, and Ema shot him the dirtiest look she could manage, which only made him grin. "Kaito!" She whispered. "Really."

"Okay, okay." He frowned. "But just for clarification, what do you mean 'wouldn't be able to handle it?'"

"I mean he'd try to set you straight. Once he almost ate half an entire cake because Tsubaki was teasing him about it."

Kaito yawned and stretched. "So he's the jealous type."

Before Ema could respond, their homeroom teacher cleared her throat. "Hashira-kun. Is something wrong?"

Kaito straightened immediately, folding his hands on his desk and loading smarm in his smile. "No! I was just helping Hinata-chan with her notes."

The teacher sighed and rubbed her temples, mumbling about "that patronizing Hashira boy." Kaito's posture relaxed once the teacher's back was to him, and he grinned lazily at Ema. The girl giggled, then schooled a serious look on her face when their teacher whipped around to scrutinize them.

* * *

In the back of the room, Yusuke's eyes widened. His sister was usually silent as sleep in this class. But now, she was sitting with her spine straight, and the Hashira boy, for all his nuisances and frustrations, was the picture of a respectful schoolboy despite the teacher's sharp stare trained on them. Ema's lips were pursed in a stifled smile while Hashira's grin seemed a little too self-satisfied.

The teacher sighed again, only one of many in the day. "Just... get to work, you two."

Ema nodded, apology in her eyes, and hunched back over her work. Even from the back, she was lovely, Yusuke mused.

And then he wasn't looking at her.

That Kaito kid had turned around with that stupidly satisfied smile on his face, eyes drilling directly into Yusuke's. One arm moved from between his and Ema's seat to slink around the back of her chair and clasp her shoulder. The Asahina drew himself to his full height in his seat. If anything, Hashira's grin only grew, baring more pearly teeth (fangs, Yusuke corrected in his mind) and making his visage even more smug. Then his tongue poked through his teeth and draped over his lip, one of his eyes falling shut in a cheeky, sarcastic wink. Yusuke narrowed his eyes at him.

 _This isn't going to last long,_ Yusuke warned Hashira, boring the thought into the infuriating boy. _I'm not going to give up on her. You should watch your back. I'm not going to give up on her, and my brothers won't either. Before it's me against them, it's us against you. Choose your battles, Hashira. Is this a war you want to fight? Do something. I dare you._

Hashira's tongue disappeared behind his teeth again.

His eyes snapped wide open, light playing off the russet pools there.

His expression morphed into a wide smile of delighted, shameless — _unquestionably fiendish—_ shock _._

And then, to Yusuke's surprise, Hashira Kaito excused himself to the hall and burst into vivacious laughter before the door had even shut behind him.

* * *

 **Sorry about the wait. Life was hectic. Don't forget to vote! I'll likely be closing the poll at around chapter nine or ten. As usual, please review.**


	9. Jealousy

**As usual, I don't own BroCon.**

* * *

"Hey, Hinata."

Ema turned from her locker to see Yusuke strolling to her side. The day was already coming to a close,Her heart pounded in her chest at the prospect of having to study with him, Kaito, and all her friends at once. She prayed she wouldn't have to bury any of them before they left.

Still, she smiled up at the redhead and hoisted a few books from the shelf. Tucking them into her bag, she said, "Mm. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," he replied, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, "I don't really know how to get there, though."

"That's okay. You'll be riding with me in Tamatsuki Tamotsu's car, unless you want to ride with Tsukada Mitsuo."

Yusuke stiffened. He knew both of them from afar; strictly speaking, they were roughly the same size, Tsukada more muscularly-composed than Tamatsuki. Yusuke had talked to Tsukada after a particularly big game that their school had lost, and he remembered that the hulking boy's eyes had blazed with more fury than they usually displayed at Ema's lunch table. And Tamatsuki, while horribly shy, seemed more kind than the other, always dusted with flour when he went straight from cooking class to lunch, sporting an apron around his waist and a beautifully-decorated cake in his hand.

"Ah... I'll ride with Tamatsuki."

Ema only nodded her assent, flicking her phone open and texting someone while Yusuke reasoned that he only wanted to ride with Tamatsuki Tamotsu, a gentle giant, because it was a far better option than a jock who could pop the brother's head off like a daisy.

And maybe if he was lucky, Hashira would come to his senses in the other car.

* * *

Tamatsuki Tamotsu was _not_ a gentle giant.

Sure, he was toward Ema, or toward Akiyama Kiyomi, or toward those twins whose names Yusuke almost never remembered (Ringo and Rayquaza, or whatever).

But he seemed to have it out for Yusuke. His stone-cold glare kept meeting Yusuke's uncomfortable one through the rear-view mirror as Ema coasted along in the front seat. The Asahina managed to end up sandwiched between the twins, who both glanced at each other with obvious discomfort as they passed a high-tech looking gadget back and forth, dodging Yusuke. Directly behind him sat Akiyama, whose stare burned holes straight into the back of his head, and on either side of her, her artist friend Jinnouchi Asami and the third-year Oshiro Katsu seemed to be plotting Yusuke's _disappearance_. Oshiro's eyes seemed hard as steel to Yusuke as they skimmed over the two Asahinas in the car.

A truck almost larger than the one Tamatsuki drove cruised past them in the other lane. Through the window, the young man observed Tsukada Mitsuo and Hashira Kaito, both laughing with the rest of their friends with obvious camaraderie. Ema gazed wistfully at them, and not for the first time that day, Yusuke felt a pang of jealousy.

"So, _Asahina,_ " began Tamatsuki, and suddenly Yusuke felt a thousand times smaller as the older boy spat out the family name like three-day old sushi. "You—"

Yusuke's phone chimed. And if he thought that Tamatsuki couldn't look any more livid, he was quickly proven wrong. The ring effectively cut off the older boy and Yusuke had to answer it with a mumbled apology.

"Hello? Masa-nii?"

" _Yusuke? Where are you?"_

"...Agh! I forgot to mention, didn't I? I'm studying with Hinata today."

"You'll be back in time for dinner, but I won't be home till lunch tomorrow," Ema whispered, twisting around to look him in the eye. If she noticed the blush rapidly growing on his face, she didn't comment on it.

"Ah, yeah, she says— wait, _what_?!" Yusuke yanked the phone away from his ear. "What do you mean, you're not going to be here till lunch tomorrow?"

She fidgeted, not making eye contact with him. "I talked to my father. He says I can stay over at Katsu's for the evening. I don't really know about you, though."

It was a painful reminder of the rift that seemed to be growing between Ema and the brothers; a simple sleepover seemed all too final. But he couldn't dwell on that; the eldest Asahina was calling his name, and Yusuke shifted his attention away from his sister.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm here till just before dinner," Yusuke responded, "and Hinata says that she's going to be staying over at Oshiro Katsu's house."

There was silence on the other end and a little bit of awkward shuffling as Masaomi seemed to shift to say something to Ukyo and Kaname. Meanwhile, Tamatsuki pulled around a fountain in a gigantic driveway directly behind Tsukada, and Yusuke could only gawk and let the others slide past him.

"We're here," Oshiro announced to him, making his way up the grand steps and to an ornate entry way.

"Ah..." Yusuke grunted, catching his sister by the arm. "Oshiro Katsu is..."

"The heir to an investment company. He doesn't bite, though." She followed her friends and deposited her extra bags with the maids at the front door as Yusuke's eye twitched. Of course, with a doctor, lawyer, and pop star as the family breadwinners, Yusuke was well-accustomed to a life of luxury, but this! He almost couldn't see the ends or top of the towering mansion, and disgruntled, he trudged up the stairs to follow his sister while ignoring the bows from the estate gardeners.

 _"Yusuke! Are you listening?"_

"Ah!" The boy almost dropped the phone in his panic as he made his way back down the stairs and leaned beside the cars. "Kyo-nii. I'm sorry. I was distracted."

 _"Right. Ema-san is staying at that boy's house?"_

Yusuke paused for a moment, then: "Define _that boy_."

More whispering on the other end, and a little scuffle, and then Kaname yanked the phone away. _"Hashira Kaito, was it?"_ His voice was tinged with strained cheerfulness. _"Mm, that boy's so forward to our Imouto-chan. She's having a sleepover there?"_

"No," Yusuke corrected. "Oshiro Katsu." Then he turned around and whispered into the mouthpiece, "But that Kaito kid might be staying over. He's terrible. Once I get home I'll tell you what he did. He's trouble, I mean it."

There was more talking on the other end of the line and the phone was transferred again, and Masaomi's soothing voice piped through the speaker. _"Alright, Yusuke. I don't think you should stay over."_ Here, he covered the mouthpiece to argue with Ukyo against Kaname ( _"Really, he shouldn't"_ ). _"Just... take care of her while you're there."_

 _"_ I will," Yusuke assured. "I need to go. I really don't want to get lost in this place."

His brothers on the other end of the line said their goodbyes and Yusuke scampered back up to the group, saying a final prayer that things would go smoothly with his sister.

* * *

The three eldest Asahinas stared at the phone in Masaomi's hand.

"Masaomi-niisan," Ukyo finally prompted gently, "Did you give her your permission to stay over?"

The pediatrician sighed. "No. But don't you think she'd ask her father, and not us? She's a smart girl. She'd know that... that he'd be more likely to give her his blessing than we would."

The reason hung unspoken in the air.

"Then... why didn't you let Yusuke stay over, just to keep an eye on Imouto-chan?" Kaname frowned. "Like he said, that Hashira Kaito might be over as well. And if what he says is true, then Hashira must be a demon, here to corrupt an angel. That is, our sister."

"No," Ukyo snapped. "I want him back here as soon as possible. Ema-san knows how to handle this boy; Yusuke doesn't." ( _If our younger brother stays over, it gives him an advantage in the game for her heart._ )

"And throw in the fact that he knows more about Hashira Kaito than anyone else in the family. Don't you want to learn more about him too, Kaname? We can get that information sooner once he's home." ( _If Ema is as smitten by this Hashira as he seems to be with her, then we need all the help we can get._ ) "Besides," Masaomi added with a strained smile. "I think that when she gets home, it's time we find more about Hashira Kaito."

* * *

"It should be a zero."

Ema started and looked up to an amused Katsu, who pointed at her work. "You accidentally wrote a zero instead of a one. If you do that, then your answer will end up undefined. Be careful when you're working through problems like these on the finals. It's easy to get lost with what is real and what is not."

A shiver ran down the girl's spine at the nearly foreboding tone that chilled Katsu's voice.

"...Ah. I see," she murmured with a smile at him, and his eyes softened minutely.

"Mm. Just be careful." He looked around the group, at Kaito who had curled himself over his work beside Ema, and at Yusuke, who had become the exhausted recipient of small talk from an uneasy Kiyomi. Still, Katsu couldn't begrudge the redhead for the diligence with which he worked, always asking questions of his blonde classmate and asking the third-years for testing tips. Even though Yusuke had to have felt the tense atmosphere as clearly as any of them, it didn't deter him from studying well.

Which was why Katsu, on his well-developed instinct, called the other boy from his work. "Asahina?"

Like his sister, Yusuke jolted. "Y-Yes, Oshiro-san!"

Katsu raised an eyebrow incredulously and adjusted his glasses. "You're working hard. Stay the night." He didn't miss the surprised little noise Ema made in the back of her throat, along with the suspicious look from Kaito. Yet Katsu couldn't rescind his offer; he had a good idea of what might happen through the study session and knew that no matter the outcome, two of his best friends would need it to move forward, romantically or otherwise.

"O-oh. I don't think I can," Yusuke muttered sheepishly. "My brother says I should come home."

Katsu puckered the inside of one cheek, ignoring the slight, frantic shake of Ema's head that dotted the corner of his vision. "So dinner, then? I'm sure your brothers wouldn't mind that."

"Er... if you insist, then maybe I can stay, but I'd need to call them."

Kastu shrugged and returned to his tutoring while Yusuke dialed Masaomi and chatted with the eldest son for a moment. Then he hung up and turned to Ema. "Ah, Masa-nii, Kyo-nii, and Kana-nii think that you should come home after too. They need to talk to you over a family meeting."

Ema frowned. "But... Papa said I could stay the night."

Yusuke shrugged while Kaito's attention caught onto their conversation and he glanced at them, curious. "They seemed pretty adamant," Yusuke continued. "I don't know. It sounded urgent." He leaned in a little bit closer to his sister and muttered, "I think they need to talk to you about what you've been up to lately...?"

Kaito narrowed his eyes; it was clear to him what was going on, and he resisted the urge to clasp Ema's hand in between his as he grinned at the other boy. "Well," he cut in with toothy, feigned cordiality, "I'm sure it can't be something more urgent than studying for finals, which are _next week_. And this is the only chance we have to get together. Tell your family their sister's grades are more important than a little _petty jealo_ —"

Much to Yusuke's delight, Ema curtly held her hand up to Kaito and kept her attention on her brother. "Is it a family issue?"

Yusuke hesitated. Of course, he could lie to her; but then again, he couldn't. "Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know."

Ema hesitated. Kaito anticipated. Then,

"A-ano, I suppose that if they need to talk to me, I can go home early...?"

Kaito sucked in a breath of air as if she had punched him in the gut, his face a mixture of shock and confusion. As if sensing the sudden change in atmosphere at the table, Katsu tensed and stood with a scrape of his chair. Clearing his throat, he addressed everyone, "Okay, I think the chef should have dinner ready by now. Let's go, all of you. No, not you, Ema, Kaito. You two stay here and clean up the table."

"Even though we're coming right back after dinner?" Ema reasoned, but Katsu shot her a glare that clearly screamed, _"Stay here or else!"_

And with that, their other friends filed out of the room, Mitsuo shooting the pair a guilty-puppy look while Kiyomi frowned, apologetic. Ema sighed, bemoaning the delay of a perfectly good meal, and set to work filing away her friends' assignments. but she hadn't set aside three papers when she felt a warm hand on top of her own, and her bewildered stare caught the rigid one of Kaito.

"Hey," he ground out, not meeting her eye. "We need to talk."

* * *

 **And here it is, Chapter Nine! Any guesses what's got Kaito so wound up? ;)**

 **Additionally, there are a couple of you wondering why Ema's not doing anything about the texts, but rest assured, that's coming at a later chapter. On another note, the outline for this story is officially completed to my satisfaction, and if things go well, you can expect 10-15 more chapters from this story.**

 **Lastly, I'd really like a beta. You don't need to be particularly nitty-gritty about punctuation and grammar and all. Plus, you get a peek of the chapters early! Here's what I'm looking for:**

 **1\. Someone who's willing to tell me if a particular sentence/passage doesn't make any sense  
2\. Someone who's willing to describe the overall mood they felt off a chapter  
3\. Someone who's willing to exchange either Skype, Tumblr, or Gmail  
4\. Someone who's willing to read the rest of the outline I have planned out, thus receiving spoilers for the story.**

 **If you're interested, please go ahead and message me or leave me a review! And as always, let me know your thoughts!**


	10. Courage

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! Your loyal support is what keeps this story going. :) Shoutout to ashleygrusz for the valuable opinions, and IcarusIscariot for volunteering to be the beta for my mess of an outline ^^; As usual, I don't own BroCon.**

* * *

 _We need to talk._

While Ema's only experiences in romance were those with her brothers and a fleeting moment with Kaito, she knew that "we need to talk" was never a good thing. It wasn't a good thing when her father said it after she accidentally shattered a vase as a child. It wasn't a good thing when Tsubaki said it before stealing her first kiss. And it wasn't a good thing when Kaito said it to her now, only two days after their tryst in Ema's bedroom. Her heart beat erratically, her breath hitching in worry.

Before she could open her mouth to respond, he carelessly hauled Ema out of her chair and led her to one of the balconies within Katsu's home before dropping her hand. She waited for him to lean against the wall or the railing, or to run his fingers through his hair, or to pout teasingly. But he never did; instead, he looked from his shoes to her, and she realized he'd never seemed so dismayed before.

"K-Kaito!"

"Ema," he replied shortly, expression overcast. No _"Em,"_ no _"Emmy."_ Just Ema.

Never having been treated so distantly by the boy, she reached for his hand with both of hers, desperate to feel his fingers locked around her own again, never to detach himself from her. But his hand hung limp between hers, deathly contrast to the warmth he so often radiated.

Her heart shattered in two when he gently removed himself from her and turned to grip the rail of the balcony.

"Kaito, I— you... did I—" she stammered in distress, clutching her shaking hands to her chest as her eyes slowly began to sting.

White was spreading in Kaito's knuckles now, his bones shifting as he squeezed the railing harder. He shook his head, and Ema painstakingly treaded to his side.

To her horror, the dimples she so loved made their appearance in an acrid scowl. His hair hung loosely over his eyes, shading them a swatch of russet-tinted blood, and his brows furrowed tightly. And he looked up to gaze at her, and she could feel her heart breaking into smaller pieces when she found there not anger, but hurt: blinding, vulnerable hurt.

Without thought, Ema cupped his face between her palms, running her fingers along his jawline and her thumb beneath his cheekbone. This time, he didn't pull away. But his gaze fell again, drained of energy as he clasped his hand over hers and leaned into her touch.

"I'm tired," he said simply.

"A-ano... maybe you should get some rest..." Ema responded, mystifed. He forced a smile toward her.

"You might be right," he murmured disjointedly. "Some rest."

"...Kaito." She beckoned again, tone solid as her resolve to help the boy she loved. "I want to help. You're not tired."

"But I am," he argued, eyes lighting again, and Ema wondered fleetingly if this was what it was like to be one of her brothers on the receiving end of Kaito's dissecting stares. "I'm just... really tired."

The girl frowned at the boy, leaning closer to him. "You've been tired. I've seen you climb up the side of my house and hang out of my window. You were tired then, but you never acted the way you are now. Kaito, please... please, talk to me. I want to help."

Then the intense ache in his gaze was back, commingling with slight anger. Whether at her or himself, Ema couldn't tell, but it was an expression she knew she never wanted to see on him again.

"I clearly don't understand how to read you, Ema," Kaito said, his voice filled with clear hurt and turmoil. "One second I think that you're your own person, but then the next, it's like I'm asking your brothers for permission to even look at you."

Ema's lips parted. Asking her brothers...? "Wait. I don't understand."

"Do you really not?" Kaito asked as he seemed to be deflating second by second.

"No; what do my brothers have to do with this?"

Kaito clenched his teeth. "Before I answer that question, tell me this: what's more important? Your own happiness, or your brothers'?"

"Ano... my brothers', I suppose. But I don't understand! Why are you asking me?"

As if disappointed, Kaito slumped forward to place his head in his hands. "Em..."

Relieved at the syllable of her nickname, she wrapped a slender hand around her bicep with pleading eyes. Then Kaito continued, "I don't know. I'm just really confused, is all."

"Confused?"

Kaito studied her, and Ema realized some of the distance in the way he looked at her had disappeared, replaced by a rueful exhaustion. _Kaito_ , she realized, _he really is tired_. He tousled his hair with one hand and leaned back against the balcony railing as the sunset colored his hair a rusty shade of brown.

"Confused, because I liked it when you kissed me," Kaito admitted. "I thought it meant something."

"It did!" Ema defended.

"I know. It did to you, and it definitely did to me. And the reason it meant so much is because I thought it meant you were finally choosing yourself. No, I know it doesn't make sense, but... Ema, it's okay for you to think about what you want. What makes _you_ happy. Not your brothers."

The girl's lips parted, stunned into silence, as she digested the bomb Kaito dropped onto her. Yes, of course she'd thought of that, but to hear the notion voiced out loud...?

"Why are you saying this to me now?"

"You have to have understood," Kaito said, "that the brothers don't want you sleeping over tonight because they're jealous. It's _your grades_ we're talking about here, and they wouldn't let you stay, even though Ki and Rei are staying over, too. Doesn't that bother you, even just a little bit?"

In actuality, it did; Ema had dearly been looking forward to staying with Kiyomi and Rei in one of the Oshiro estate guest rooms, but the family matter was urgent, of course... at least, according to Yusuke... but Ema shook the thought away, frowning at Kaito.

"It doesn't matter if it bothers me. It's a family issue."

"Is it? Is it really? Because Yusuke said that all they need to talk to is what you've been up to _lately_. That could have waited till you got home tomorrow."

"Kaito!"

"What?" Kaito straightened, eyes blazing. "What could you possibly say to defend them?"

"They're my _family_."

" _You_ think of them that way. But _you're_ the one who told me that _they_ don't think of you the same way. Aren't _you_ the one hurting because they're fighting over you? Aren't _you_ the one who feels guilty when they can't resolve their conflicts? Aren't _you_ the one disappointed because the family you wanted can't see you as anything but a prize to romance?"

He clutched her shoulders, looking ready to shake sense into her. Her lip trembled as she replied, "It's not their fault... they can't control how they feel..."

"And neither can you," Kaito responded. "But you can control the way you react. You can tell them to stop. I know it's not in your nature, Ema, but I also know that you're your own person and you have the strength in you to tell them _no_ , once and for all, _no_."

Ema shook her head as if trying to convince herself otherwise. "It doesn't work that way. If I do that, I'll hurt them."

"Sometimes," Kaito said gently, "It's more merciful to cause a moment of blinding pain than to let somebody suffer in wait."

The pair stared at each other. Ema's eyes pooled with tears, and she ducked her head to wipe them away with her sleeve while Kaito looked on. She whispered, "Why do you want so badly for me to cut off their feelings for me? You don't have to worry about what they feel for me, because I don't feel the same way... you don't... I'm yours..."

Kaito, shocked at her declaration, froze, his grip on her shoulders tightening. His eyes softened. "I know you're mine, Em. Just like I'm _yours_. It's just, well, I don't know how to explain it. I guess that it's just I don't really know if we can be together when your brothers just keep on _doing this_ to you. They keep hurting you, scaring you. The only thing I can promise to do right now is be there for you, but I'm not going to add complications."

Ema, wounded, loosed a shaky breath. "I thought you said you'd give me time to work things out."

"And have you?"

She remained silent, her gaze dropping from his eyes to his lips to his chest. Slowly, she placed her hand over his heart, then let it slide around to clasp the back of his shirt. She brought up her other arm and laid it over the other one, then rested her ear over his heart, her tears darkening the cotton of his shirt.

"You're right," she whispered. "I haven't. I won't until I have the courage to speak for myself. And... right now, I'm not the kind of girl you need. You need someone strong. Courageous. Because that's the kind of girl you deserve. Maybe... maybe this should stop."

Kaito shook his head vehemently. " _No_. I'm not giving up on you, Ema." He drew away and bent down to her eye level. "So don't give up on yourself. I'm not asking you to change, because you're right; the kind of girl I need is someone courageous. And the reason... the reason why I _love you_ is because I know you have that courage in you. You're honest. You know what you want when it comes to your own feelings. So _make them hear you_."

Ema gasped. She'd never heard Kaito voice his love out loud. Hearing it held a different weight than she imagined it would, a pleasant lightness that danced on her heart and shivered warmth along her bones. She bit her lip and watched as his gaze fluttered minutely down her face, and pondered how different the scene was from only a few nights before. But this time, she knew exactly what she wanted.

"I'll make them hear me," she repeated.

"You'll make them hear you," he promised.

"I can. I know I can. And this... taking what I want... this is my first step."

She stood on the tips of her toes and locked her lips firmly with his, tangling her fingers in his hair and arching herself into the curve of his body. Her heart pounded against his, and she threw herself deeper into his lips with all the resolution and fearlessness and love she had never been able to voice. Her body went warm and pink stained her face as her lashes fluttered against his cheek. Just for those few moments, she knew exactly what she wanted. None of the curiosity of their first kiss. None of the innocence.

Kaito ardently returned the pressure she gave, entwining his arms around her waist and nipping at her lips. His mouth slanted over hers as he consumed her with eager ardor. He ran his knuckles up her spine, down her neck, along her sides, till they rested on her hips. He hummed into her, hummed her name, and felt her melt into the sound. He moved one hand to grip her wrist and ran his thumb along the skin beneath her palms.

Then the sliding glass door scraped against the ground, and startled, the pair separated from the kiss with wide eyes. And suddenly, horror flooded Ema's heart.

Because framed by the threshold, eyes flickering with heartbreak, stood Yusuke.

* * *

 **Quick updates for the win! Or at least relatively quick. But I'd assume it's better than a month-long wait, yeah?**

 **Hopefully you guys are still enjoying the story alright. I love reading through your reviews and seeing what you think; it definitely makes my day! On another note, you guys, I'm totally obsessed with _A dish best served cold_ by janayascarlet1. It's definitely been my recent go-to when I have nothing else to read. Go check it out if you haven't already!**

 **As always, please review and let me know what you think!**


	11. Hurricane

**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed last chapter and my beta, IcarusIscariot. All of your support keeps this story up and running!**

* * *

Once, when Ema was young, Rintarou Hinata's flights were cancelled three times in a row due to an oncoming hurricane. He was ready to return back from a two-week-long trip when Little Ema saw the weather forecast for the region he was staying in, and the young girl burst into tears at the thought of her father getting caught in the horrendous storm.

"It was terrifying, Ema," he had said once he returned, hoisting her onto his lap and smiling his gentle smile. "I was at the airport for the longest time. It was completely crowded. I'm lucky I managed to get my hands on a phone to call you with, otherwise I never would have fallen asleep."

"I was so scared for you before that, though," Little Ema had whimpered. He had laughed.

"I was scared, too. You know, there was a time throughout it all when I thought they were lying about the hurricane. You know what that's called, right?"

"What what's called?"

"The calm before the storm. The moment where everything's so still that you don't think disaster will be coming at all."

"The calm before the storm, like when the teacher gets all quiet before she makes everybody take a time out?"

"Yes, exactly like that. It's dangerous, because you think it's safe when it's not. And then the storm starts right up just when you think it's not coming. It's very disheartening." And with that, Rintarou promptly extracted a few satellite photos of a hurricane and pointed out the hurricane to Little Ema. "Sweetheart, sometimes you'll get caught in the calm before the storm and be caught off guard when the hurricane comes after all. But don't let it get you down, okay? Just remember that you can have that calm again, and use that knowledge to get you through until the storm passes. And it will always pass."

Little Ema, doubtful at the idea that she would ever find herself in a situation like that, leaned away from her father and regarded him with well-hidden dubiousness. "Well... okay, I suppose, Papa. But I don't really know how many times I'll be in a hurricane."

Rintarou, warmed by his daughter's innocence, laughed merrily. "No, no, I suppose not. You're right. But promise me one thing, sweetheart? Just... remember what I told you."

"Ano... I can do that, Papa. I promise."

* * *

"Yusuke-kun!"

Ema caught the front door as Yusuke slammed it closed, flinging it open and chasing after the boy as he sprinted down the steps. "Yusuke-kun, wait!" She chased after him, panic written across her face, and nearly bowled over one of the estate gardeners in her haste. "How do you expect to get home?"

"I'll just walk," he bit, voice gravelly and dry.

"You can't walk, that's ridiculous. Home is half an hour away, driving—"

"Don't worry about me."

"Oh..." she moaned desperately. "Please, please wait." At last, she caught up to him and grasped his wrist, feeling him tense beneath her fingers and whirl around to face her. She registered a few of the maids at the front door, calling to her, but ignoring them, she decided she had to think fast. If Yusuke told her brothers before she could talk to them herself... she really didn't want to think about that disaster. "Don't walk. I can— I don't know— maybe Tamotsu will drive us home."

"Us?" Yusuke asked incredulously. "You're actually going to go home?"

Ema hesitated before nodding. "There's nothing else to do. You're going to tell everyone else, right?"

Yusuke cast his eyes downward and jerked his chin at her in affirmation. How could he not tell? He couldn't force them to do something about Hashira Kaito, but he could let them know just to be fair. He didn't know what to feel. Hurt, that he caught the love of his life in the arms of another? Anger, that she could go so long without telling them? Frustration, that he should have seen it coming but didn't do so in time? No, this situation needed closure, he decided, whether that was breaking up the couple or wishing them well. He couldn't do that himself.

The girl, defeated, slowly released her hold on his wrist and bit her lip, her eyes pooling with tears. She blinked them away and hugged herself with one arm, looking at the trees, the pavement, the fountain. Anywhere but Yusuke. "Right. I get it. It's okay; I deserve it." She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than Yusuke, but the boy sighed sadly anyway and turned to face her fully.

"You know I have to." He was shaking, the full force of what he had witnessed beginning to hit him, and he quickly wiped away his own tears on his sleeve. He had to get away before he broke down, he knew it, and if that meant accepting her offer, he would do it. "Actually, I think I should get Tamatsuki to drive me home. You should stay. Maybe you can sneak in later tonight and not have to face all of us till you feel like it."

Ema winced at the swift assassination of her character. Sneak in? She wanted to pretend that was an unfair assessment, but in her heart she knew Yusuke had every right to think that of her and more. She shuddered at the idea that her brothers would soon enough be thinking the same thing. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again and nodded slowly. "I'll just... go get Tamotsu right now, I guess. Wait by his car."

And not for the first time in her life, Ema turned around and ran.

* * *

If there was anything good about what Yusuke saw, it was that Tamatsuki Tamotsu no longer regarded him with aggression. Rather Yusuke situated himself in the furthest seat away from the boy, and Tamatsuki eyed him with pity through the rear view mirror. Ema had chosen to stay behind and get their things packed up, then hitch a ride with Mitsuo whenever he left early for basketball practice.

Which meant they'd be riding separate cars. Which meant Yusuke would have to face his brothers alone.

Tamatsuki was silent through the drive, and Yusuke could feel his concern two seats away. Still they ignored each other, Yusuke's arms folded as he tried to keep his tears at bay, but the older boy heard every sniffle, every rustle of fabric as Yusuke wiped his face with his sleeve.

At last, Tamatsuki rounded into the Sunrise Residence driveway and shifted the car into park. "We're here. Grab your stuff."

"Ah. I didn't bring it. My sist— Hinata— will get it back."

Tamatsuki shrugged, and with a thick sigh, unlocked the car doors. "Whatever works."

Yusuke grunted hoarsely and jumped down onto the pavement. "Thanks. For getting me home, I mean."

Tamatsuki shrugged again, and Yusuke watched as he peeled out of the driveway. And defeated at last, he sat heavily onto the porch steps, put his head in his hands, and let the tears flow freely.

* * *

"You're leaving already?"

After Ema had abandoned him on the balcony to chase after her brother, Kaito quickly made his way back down to the study where two fresh plates of food waited for them. He finished his and waited with the rest of his friends while Ema dealt with Yusuke. He watched Kiyomi as she gazed out the window and into the driveway, biting her thumbnail nervously. He watched Ryota drum his fingers against Ema's textbook, eyes half-lidded and brows knit tightly. He watched Katsu scratch his pencil along the page diligently, lips pressed into a grim line. Watching him sitting there, all calm, all patient... far less questioning than anybody else in that room...

Kaito felt a flurry of rage at his upperclassman. He had no proof, but he was suddenly sure that Katsu knew this would happen; all of it. From Kaito wanting to talk, to Ema making her decision, to Yusuke walking in on them. He wouldn't be surprised if the bespectacled senior told Yusuke to go out to that balcony when he did. As if sensing Kaito's eyes on him, Katsu looked up and met his gaze coolly, eyes heavy with... no, it wasn't regret... more like sorrow... like he had done something that needed to be done.

It was then that Ema had returned, beckoning for Tamotsu.

"Yusuke wants to go home," she grit out, not meeting anyone's inquiring stares. "Can you take him?"

"What about you?" Tamotsu asked.

Ema shook her head. "I'll just ride home with Mitsuo. I don't think Yusuke wants to be in the same car as me right now."

Tamotsu's eyes had softened visibly as he nodded at her, putting together the pieces for a vague image of the situation. "Yeah, yeah I can do that."

He had picked up his keys then and swung them around on his forefinger before strolling outside. Ema had taken back her place at the table forlornly and began devouring her meal before packing up her bags and Yusuke's. "Mitsuo," she whispered, clearly trying to hide her inner turmoil, "What time do you leave?"

"Er..." The boy had regarded her with a concerned glance. "Well, uh, right now, if you want to."

Ema had nodded and swallowed thickly. With a forced smile, she addressed everyone in the room, still not meeting their gazes. "I need to go home, okay? There's a family emergency."

Without another word, she hastened to Mitsuo's car.

"Wow," Kiyomi whispered. "I hope she's okay."

"I wonder what happened," Rei responded in a hushed voice, biting her lip. "Kaito, what the hell did you do?"

"It's not what I did," he responded, a hopeful kind of heartache flaring within him. "It's what she did."

* * *

Ukyo had been assessing the giant tuna which would soon be his family's dinner when Yusuke had wandered into the kitchen, alone and dazed. The boy had hovered awkwardly against the wall, waiting for his older brother to acknowledge his presence, before clearing his throat.

"Kyo-nii."

"What is it, Yusuke?" Ukyo extracted a long, thin knife from a drawer and, with the finesse of a shark, began scaling the fish.

"Who's home right now?"

"Masaomi-niisan is off today. Hikaru and Natsume are here to visit, and Kaname, Tsubaki, Azusa, Louis, and Wataru are all home as well. Why do you ask?" Examining another graceful, curved knife, Ukyo began filleting the fish and dumping the pieces into batter.

"There's something really important I need to talk about," Yusuke ground out, crossing his arms self-consciously. It was then that his older brother realized just how hoarse Yusuke's voice seemed to be, how much more choked it was than usual. "It's about our sister."

Ukyo's knife halted mid-slice as he took a deep breath and laid it carefully on the chopping board. Running his hands under the tap, he adjusted his glasses and dried his hands on his apron before steeling himself and turning to Yusuke. "Well, what happened?"

Yusuke shook his head, clearly troubled. "I don't... I don't know how many times I can say it. Can't you just call a family meeting? It's important."

"More important than dinner...?" Ukyo inquired, raising a brow incredulously.

"Yes. I think so. It deals with the entire family. I don't know. Just the sooner the better."

Alarmed, Ukyo stood at attention. Something about Ema, something that concerned the entire family... It didn't take a rocket scientist to deduce what Yusuke wanted to talk about, but specifically, he didn't know. This entire fiasco seemed to be spiraling more and more out of control by the day as the brothers fell deeper and deeper for her. Any new piece of information had to be dealt with swiftly and efficiently, no matter how small. The second son quickly put together a group text for the brothers who were home, telling them to get down to the living room, and began preparing tea after motioning for Yusuke to sit.

Slowly the brothers started trickling into the living room. Yusuke had pulled up a dining chair and positioned it in front of the television, wringing his hands nervously as his brothers made themselves comfortable on the couch.

"I swear," Tsubaki yawned. "My manager is running me into the ground. Can't I get a little bit of sleep without some family meeting?"

"It must be important," Azusa reasoned. "It's Yusuke, after all."

When Yusuke responded with neither indignation nor annoyance, the triplet's curiosity instantly piqued.

"Yu-kun," Wataru prompted as he jumped onto the couch and swung his legs. "How come we're all here, huh? Is it something super important?"

Yusuke cleared his throat and braced his hands on his knees, sitting up as straight as he could with as much dignity as he could muster. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ukyo wheeling in the tea, Masaomi leaning behind Wataru on the back cushion of the couch, Natsume and Hikaru patiently awaiting their brother's announcement.

"I... I, uh... I..." Had the room always been this hot? Yusuke hooked his finger around the collar of his school uniform and loosened it as he made emitted a strange, guttural noise. "I... I have... something... it's so warm in here..."

The brothers regarded him with concern. Yusuke stopped talking, and everything in the room was silent save for Hikaru pouring himself a cup of tea and Yusuke's strangled coughs. At last, Hikaru spoke. "You're gay, aren't you?"

"What?!" Yusuke barked out, shooting to his feet. "No! I'm not! That's not funny! This is actually... well... it's serious, so if I could have everybody's attention!"

"You've had it... Yusuke-kun..." Louis stated, pouring himself a drink as well. On his shoulder, Juli perched curiously.

"I wonder what that wolf brother has to say that's so important," Juli wondered, and Louis hummed in response. The squirrel continued, "Although it would have been better if Hikaru's prediction was right. Because then I'd have less of these dominant males to deal with!"

At last, Yusuke steeled himself. "Earlier today I was at Oshiro Katsu's house. We were studying, and he invited me over to dinner."

A dinner which you deprived us all of, a few of the brothers in the room thought bitterly.

"I was going to stay, but then I saw something." Yusuke's lip trembled weakly and his brows furrowed as he looked at the ground, unable to meet his brothers' stares once they knew what he was about to tell them. "I, um, I went out onto one of the balconies for fresh air. And Hinata was there. And she... she k-kissed Hashira Kaito."

Hikaru choked on his tea. Louis raised an eyebrow, Wataru wailed in distress. Ukyo froze in the middle of pouring a drink for Natsume, and Masaomi cautiously gauged the reactions of his siblings. The rest of the brothers remained stone-faced. At last, Kaname laughed humorlessly.

"That's not funny at all, Yu-chan. Don't you think you shouldn't be spreading strange rumors like that?"

Yusuke took a shaky breath. "It's not a rumor. She kissed him. Or kissed him back, at least. I don't know; I don't know what else there is to say besides any of that." Wearily, he slumped back into his chair, waiting for the chaos to ensue.

It never did.

"You're lying," Tsubaki said softly, and Yusuke snapped his gaze to his older brother. "You're lying!"

He leapt out of his chair and fled the room. "Tsubaki!" Azusa called to him and chased after his triplet, but neither of them made it past the base of the stairs. And the brothers stopped dead in their tracks. And the rest of the family sat up straighter.

And Ema, head hung in shame, descended the last step of the staircase.

* * *

The only sister took the chair Yusuke had placed before the brothers. Hotter than the sun, their stares beat down on her as she tugged her sleeves over her hands.

At last, Masaomi, who had been wringing his hands in front of him, looked up from his gnashing fists and stood up straight. Ema winced at the small action. His voice, gentle but raw, seemed to echo through the living room.

No, not the living room. The court. Her brothers were the judges, the audiences, the councils. Yusuke was the witness. And Ema was the defendant. Her trial had begun, and anything she could say would be scrutinized and evaluated. And each pair of eyes in that room glinted sharp and bright like knives, ready to cut the truth out of her once and for all.

"Yusuke has... said something about you and Hashira Kaito," Masaomi began, selecting his words carefully. "Do you know what I might be talking about?"

"...Yes," Ema responded timidly, hunching lower in her seat.

A stir throughout the court, and the defendant hid her eyes behind her hair.

"Did this really happen?" Masaomi pressed on.

"...Yes. I did it." Ema said softly.

An uproar shook the tribunal, and Masaomi took a deep breath, concealing his hurt, and leaned back, turning the floor to his co-counsel.

"Everybody, quiet!" Ukyo decreed, demanding order in his court, and the council's stare upon the defendant seemed to grow acidic. "Is this true?"

"Yes."

"You kissed Hashira Kaito."

"Yes."

The defendant hunched even lower in her seat, folding her sleeve-stifled hands tightly atop her lap. The witness gazed upon her sadly, wondering if he ever should have testified what he had seen to the rest of the jury at all. Closure could never be worth this; could never be worth seeing her so lost, so helpless.

"Why would you do it?" Natsume sat pristinely in the center of the arc formed by his triplets, the three as vigilant and unmoving as the Fates. Yet each of them scowled tightly, sour looks upon their faces. Tsubaki looked as if he was going to be sick, and Azusa didn't look much better. Neither had said a word since Ema had arrived, their devastation hardly contained in their silence.

Ema hesitated; she could hardly tell them why. What could she possibly say to defend herself? That she was going to go through a change catalyzed by them? That she was going to be loud and clear in her actions from now on? No, they deserved the truth. They deserved to know—

"He's mine. I'm his."

Blunt, but sharp. Quick, but cutting. It's more merciful to cause a moment of blinding pain. She shook with fear at the way eyes flickered around the room, at the way lips trembled and shoulders sagged. But hope swelled within her; this was going far better than she expected. She had prepared herself for a slaughter, but maybe, just maybe, they were ready to move on, ready to give up on from her, ready to give her her happiness—

"No."

Startled, Ema snapped her eyes to the head of white hair and violet eyes. The young man's lip curled disdainfully. "You can't be," he snarled.

"What?" Her ears heard, but her mind refused to believe. He couldn't have just said that to her. She looked around the room for support, meeting their gazes individually, but they wouldn't make eye contact with her, looking down instead as if refusing to step in. As if Tsubaki was right.

"You're not his— you've always been ours! We said we wouldn't give up on you, we said we would fight, and this Hashira has nothing to do with you!"

"He's right, Ema," Natsume interrupted, voice gravely serious, before Ema could get a word in. "None of us have ever talked about it before; it's been taboo to talk about it with anyone but you."

Then another brother was speaking, but Ema was too far gone, staring unseeingly, unblinkingly at the coffee table. Her lips pursed into a tight line, eyes wide with disbelief as though trying to process everything that her brothers were saying to her.

"But you need to know that we care about you. As men. Not brothers. It may not apply to everyone in this room. It may apply to anyone outside this room. But it's time for you to make your choice. And it's not Hashira Kaito." The voice of whichever brother who spoke meshed into Ema's thoughts; it sounded like any of them, any of them pushing her and pulling her right, left, center—!

Oxygen rushed to her ears and she vaguely registered Louis's concerned lullaby and Juli's enraged shrieking. Red tinted the corner of her vision. Blood boiled beneath her knuckles. Her lungs filled and drained, her teeth grit tightly, her nails cut through palm, voices rose and bickering escalated, and she was done, so done—

She was angry. God, she had never been this angry in her life.

Distantly, her head rung with the voice of her father. The story of the hurricane, she remembered. The calm before the storm. It's easy to think it's safe, but it's not. But it could be a solace. Once upon a time, she could have compared the hurricane to Kaito and her brothers. Kaito, her sanctuary from the pounding hail and screaming wind that was her brothers' love. But now, she knew:

She was the hurricane. And the calm was finally over for the Asahina boys.

"Stop it!" She stood with such force that the wooden chair scratched the pristine flooring and toppled backwards with a screech. And her momentum brought her forward to brace her hands roughly on the coffee table, hair casting a deep, dark shade over her eyes. Arguments across the room silenced, her outburst the gun that shot those fights dead.

Fine porcelain clinked together on the coffee table as she trembled and shook and quaked with emotion, catching her breath and loosing it measuredly. Her heart beat erratically and she could feel her brothers, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, staring at her in shock. To their horror, and hers, tears began trailing down her face.

"Stop it," she ground out, voice as thick as her earlier command, no matter how much more silent. "This can't be happening."

She released a shaky sob, wiping her tears away roughly. "You don't understand! You keep doing this, but I can't keep up with you—! All this fighting, all these conflicts, how do you think it feels knowing that it's all my fault? I wanted brothers, not... not this!" Her panic crescendoed like the swell of a wave crashing against rocky shores, her heart whirring like frantic helicopter blades. She gathered her thoughts, no one daring to interrupt her as she paced the room, seething. Her ponytail flicked back and forth like a pendulum each time she turned her head.

"It's exhausting. I'm so tired. I finally find what I want and you say that I can't have it? I can't be this, I can't be that, all because you're just... being like this! I never asked for any of it, and I never wanted any of it, not from the beginning and especially not now. And no matter how many times I tell all of you to stop, that I want to be family, you can't seem to get it through your heads— I don't understand! How is it possible to take 'I want to be family' and turn it into 'Keep making advances at me?' You're all so possessive; not protective, because who reads their sister's texts without even telling her, and then answers back without asking her? I have boundaries, and I have limits, and that just crossed the line for me; I kept it in all this time but now it needs to be talked about, because you say you care about how I feel— how can that possibly be true? Nobody hears, and nobody listens, but after all this time, I've finally decided that I'm going to do something about it."

"I-imouto-chan," Kaname stuttered, and Ema's cries still rung in the ears of each of them. She was a sobbing mess, hair disheveled and face sheened with sweat and tears and lip curled in disgust. Each of them reached out to her. She never reached back.

It's a strange thing, she realized, how many types of love there are. She knew that most of them in the room stared at her, their eyes filled with the wrong type. It was too heavy, too hard to breathe with this sickly sweet kind of affection diving down her throat. So she shook her head as if to clear it and waved her hand as if to swat them away.

"No. I can't do this. I can't be here."

She was already making her way up the stairs before they realized what was happening.

And she was already out the door before they moved an inch.

* * *

 **Yikes. This might be the longest chapter yet. You've all been waiting a while, and with an upcoming road trip I may find myself internet-less, so I decided to get this up.**

 **Thanks so much for all your reviews on the last chapter! I'm glad everyone enjoyed reading the cliffhanger as much as I enjoyed writing it. But anyways, here it is. The big "oh crap." I hope I managed to capture all the emotions and reactions of everyone correctly! Most of Ema's development up till now has been leading up to this chapter, to be honest. You'll see her thoughts and emotions during that big ending more in-depth in the next one.**

 **And big announcement, I have another story in the works: _Livewyre_! As an AU, its plot is going to be somewhat different from what I usually write, with chapters that should be considerably longer. The beta outline for it is about four or five chapters in, and the first chapter should be published as a preview somewhere between this chapter and the next, or perhaps a little later. No worries, _Green-Eyed_ will remain my main focus till it's finished. But as thanks for your continued support till now, here's a special sneak-peek of the _Livewyre_ summary:**

 _The Asahinas thought they had their hands full with their mother remarrying Rintarou Hinata, author of Livewyre: Japan's hottest graphic novel series. But they never expected Ema, Livewyre's heroine, to appear living and breathing before their eyes. With the world of Livewyre slowly coming to life, how can the brothers handle falling for a girl who's desperate to get back home?_

 **As usual, please review; I'd really love to know what you guys think, both of this story and the upcoming one!**


	12. Ghosts

**Thanks for your kind reviews! Special thanks to my beta, IcarusIscariot, and I do not own BroCon.**

* * *

As soon as the door slammed shut behind her, Ema marched down the street, horror building up inside her as she realized what she had done.

 _There's no way... did I really tell them all that about Kaito?_

She bit her lip. Behind her, the silhouette of Sunshine Residence faded into the orange of the sky, nothing but a purple blot on the horizon. It almost looked like a smear of paint on a canvas, but within its white walls envy ran rampant within each young man.

Ema shook her head wildly to clear her thoughts. It was already almost dark, and she was a teenage girl alone and vulnerable. Her situation quickly cleared to her, and she ran through a list in her mind of people she could turn to.

Her father and Miwa would both be at work, and she didn't want them trying to talk her into returning to Sunrise Residence. Kaito might be out looking for her, but with finals week coming up, he could still be studying. Katsu would scold her for running from her problems and probably have the butlers wrestle her into a car to go back and face them. Mitsuo was at basketball practice, and would be until late that night. Tamotsu's unfailingly sage advice would be to go back and face them civilly. Rei and Ryota could have left the Oshiro mansion and be anywhere about town, buying tools and parts for some new invention of theirs. Kiyomi's myriad of sisters intimidated Ema too much to try out the Akiyama home, and the rest of her friends would most likely still be at Katsu's.

A chill ran down her spine despite the fact that the summer air had already settled.

Ema mourned her forgetfulness when she realized her wallet was still at home, and her phone was dying rapidly. She needed to make a decision quickly.

She supposed she could go find Mitsuo. Out of all of them, he was potentially the most available. Her Herculean friend would probably drop everything and listen to her with wide eyes, and he was far too naive to question her rash speech to her brothers, or to try to give her advice on the situation. And even though he was at basketball practice—

 _Subaru_.

The name blared into her head so quickly she jumped in surprise. She grit her teeth, realizing that Mitsuo reminded her far too much of the ninth son for her to turn to him. The best-case scenario was that she would wind herself up too tight, seeing one of her brothers in one of her best friends, and grow cold toward him. She couldn't stand to see the wounded-puppy look on his face whenever that happened.

Grimacing, she redirected her thoughts. If not Mitsuo, then Tamotsu was always an option. Unlike, for example, Katsu, he probably wouldn't try to force her into talking to her brothers again. She could assume he'd grow more and more impatient with her cowardice and push her to talk to them, but he could never force her, which was more than she could say for a few of her friends. His family would let her take the spare room above their bakery, and he would help her through, care for her, cook for her—

 _Ukyo_.

She frowned. Tamotsu _was_ like the lawyer in that way, cooking for everybody else. But he was even the most level-headed out of their entire circle, and she could count on him for good advice and spoken transparency. They were far too alike. Staying with Tamotsu for the time being would inevitably have the same outcome as Mitsuo. But where Mitsuo lacked any brightness, Tamotsu had an abundance of, making Tamotsu far more formidable. She could imagine accidentally getting snippy with him — or yelling at him as she had her blond brother and the rest of them — and promptly getting punted to the curb.

So he was definitely out.

She could easily see herself spending a night or two at Rei and Ryota's. The twins, with their often-overseas parents, wouldn't even have to worry about inconveniencing their family. And they were in her year too, so her chances of getting preached to dropped significantly. She'd be entertained during her stay, she knew that for sure, with the pair always trying out new inventions on the other (the memory of Ryota tangling his twin sister's hair in a home-made robot arm was still a favorite of hers). The more she thought about it, the more appealing the idea sounded. They would take her under her wing. They'd treat her like one of their own. They'd make her their third piece...

 _Tsubaki. Azusa. Natsume_.

Ruffling a hand through her hair in frustration, Ema plunked heavily onto a nearby bench. It was bad enough that she felt guilty everytime she had an amorous thought toward Kaito, but now this? Could her brothers' jealousy manage to alienate her from the people closest to her, even when she was alone? She didn't know if she could stand the reminder of them everytime she looked into her friends' eyes.

She bit her lower lip. Maybe Tsubaki was right. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe it was just the way her brothers told her: she couldn't ever be his, no matter how much she was wanted to be.

Quickly wiping away the tears that misted down her face, she looked along the endless sidewalk she walked on. The vapor from a stream nearby made the air humid and clammy, forcing her school sweater to stick to her back uncomfortably.

She jumped at a pair of warm hands on her shoulders, and turned to see Kaito looking down at her in concern.

"What are you doing here?" Ema asked, voice hoarse.

"I got worried when you left Katsu's so suddenly." His voice was even gentler than his motions as he guided her towards a small coffee shop. "And Mitsuo came back after he dropped you off to tell us that something was wrong with you. So I went to your house."

Ema looked at him in shock. The bell hanging over the cafe's glass door jingled merrily as Kaito pulled up a chair for her and ordered a coffee with a wave of his hand. He quickly elaborated,

"I didn't really see much. But the pink-haired kid let me in. I got to the top of the stairs before I decided to go look somewhere else. It was... kind of a mess."

She didn't respond, hunching down in her seat. The barista stopped by with a fresh cup of coffee, which Kaito stirred cream and sugar into and handed to Ema.

"I don't know how to describe it," he continued after a short silence. "But I could tell you weren't there. That white-haired one was freaking out. I think a couple of the other ones were crying. And the doctor and lawyer guys were trying to calm everybody down. You really did a number on them, huh?"

When she still stayed quiet, he apologized. "That was tactless. Sorry."

He sighed as she sipped at her coffee cup further, not making eye contact with him. "Okay, look, Em. I get that you're pissed at... I don't even know. If you're mad at me for letting you kiss me, or them for getting jealous or whatever. But I want you to know I'm proud of you."

She looked from the rim of her coffee cup to meet his eyes in disbelief. "Proud?"

"Yeah. I know that's tactless too. But I can tell you took a stand for yourself. And I'd definitely say you made them hear you today."

She chuckled humorlessly. "I wish I didn't. I confessed to some things that would have been better off unheard. Like you, for example."

Kaito cocked a brow. "Me? Am I your dirty little secret now?"

Ema flinched at the slight indignation that crept into his voice. "Please don't take that the wrong way. You know that's what I meant."

She watched as the tension seeped from his body slowly and measuredly, until the only tightness in him was wrapped up in his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess. Sorry, I'm just really tired."

Nodding, she bit her bottom lip. "I didn't mean for all this to happen."

Kaito sighed and raised the tips of his fingers to her face, running them tenderly along the soft edge of her jawline. His thumb tucked a stray curl behind hear ear, and Ema realized how terribly her frustration had mussed up her appearance. "I know," he said. "I get it."

"I wish _they_ got it too," Ema bit out, frustrated. "I liked it better when everything was simple for you and me."

"It was never simple," he reasoned. "You have protective stepbrothers who happen to be in love with you. You've been hiding me away ever since we met, and they don't ever seem to listen to you. I think that this, us working out everything for us to be together, is about as simple as we've gotten."

She pulled away and rested her head and forearms sadly upon the table. "Then... I wish things could _be_ simpler than this. I thought that they were going to accept it, you know. They were quiet for a little while before they tried to insist that I... couldn't be yours."

Kaito's eyes flared with anger. "They what?"

"They told me I couldn't be."

He muttered a string of curses under his breath, rolling his eyes in exasperation at Ema's jealous brothers. He understood as well as anyone how easy it was to love her, but he prided himself in knowing just as well that she was a person of her own decisions. She could be whatever she pleased, whether it was his or hers or theirs, or nobody's at all.

"This is messed up," Kaito mused, mirroring her slumped position. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket, quickly firing a text off before turning his attention back to Ema.

"It is," she agreed, her finger reaching out to trace patterns across the back of his hand. "I want them to love me as I am: their sister."

"I want the same thing," Kaito admitted, "Only maybe for more selfish reasons."

They sat in quiet and Kaito's eyes drifted closed, his brow furrowing and his lips jutting to the side in a troubled frown.

"I love you too," she whispered.

His eyes snapped open. "What?"

"I love you too. You told me earlier, but I never said it. And I had time to think about it. I love you too."

He blinked at her slowly. "You do?"

She bit her lip. "Yes. And I... I think we should go out."

"...you _do_?"

The incredulity in his voice was like a punch to Ema's gut. He wanted the same thing, right? For a moment, dread settled in her heart that maybe Kaito had led her on, that maybe she should have listened to her brothers...

She felt a sudden sense of deja vu from their first meeting in a cafe, where they had confessed their interest in each other. The uncertainty of the moment pricked the hairs on her arms, and she shuddered at the sensation. But their crushes had grown into something stronger, deeper, and she didn't know if she could handle it if it broke.

"I mean, I do too," Kaito quickly clarified, perhaps seeing the heartbreak on her face. "But I didn't think you would."

She grit her teeth. "What do you mean by that?"

Even if he sensed the sudden tension that laid beneath her words, he persisted on. "I _mean_ ," he responded, matching her tone, "that this kinda feels like a step backwards from 'make them hear you.' It sounds more like 'make sure they don't find out.' And I thought that 'make them hear you' was what you were going for."

She sat up a little bit straighter in her seat, while Kaito squared his shoulders.

"I know what I want."

"I know you know. You just told me. You want brothers, right? A family? This sure as hell doesn't seem like a good way to get it. Would you tell them about me, Em?"

Her lower lip caught between her teeth.

"I don't want to be a secret," Kaito admitted softly, his tone quieting. In his pocket, his phone buzzed. Ignoring it, he continued, "I want to be with you. But I want to do it right. No hiding or sneaking around. You know what you want, and... I do too. I want to give you the world, but I need a part of it, no matter how small, that I can call my own."

She loosed a measured breath. "I get it," she replied softly.

Kaito looked more earthly in that moment than she had ever seen him. His eyes were filled with the same steady love they always held, but his face was sad and his brow was crinkled and his eyes were hazy with all the fatigue of the teenage boy he was. For a moment, she wished he were celestial; a deity to love, somebody who could dodge every roadblock in the path of their relationship. A deity who loved her enough where being with her was as natural a part of him as the heart that beat his ichor, as the eyes that observed mortality, as the breath that had breathed since the beginning of time.

That was the moment Ema realized he was only human.

As if he sensed the direction of her thoughts, he smiled sadly, apologetically. His eyes shifted out of focus, and for a moment, Ema thought he had slipped away from her. Instead, he simply said,

"Kiyomi is here."

The bell above the door chimed again and Kiyomi rushed in, breathless, her school sweater tied around her shoulders and her bag slung down to her waist. "I got your text."

"She needs a place to stay," Kaito said gently to his blonde friend. "If her brothers found out she stayed with me..."

"I understand," Kiyomi cut him off. "My sisters won't care."

Ema hid her surprise. Of the four Akiyama sisters, Kiyomi was both the youngest and the easiest to talk to. She couldn't fathom staying with them, but with everything that happened with Kaito and Yusuke and all of her brothers, she was just so tired and she just needed a bed...

"I messed up, Ki," Kaito was saying quietly. Ema could feel herself growing more and more lethargic, and her eyes felt heavier and Kaito was talking again— "Tell her not to hate me, okay?"

"She won't hate you." A slender pair of hands wrapped around Ema's arm and carefully pulled her to her feet. Kiyomi's golden hair splayed across Ema's shoulders as she hugged her close to her body. "She won't. She loves you. You love her. And it's that simple; that's all you need for everything to work out."

 _Simple_. Ema almost choked on the thought.

Kaito and Kiyomi were saying their farewells now, and Ema leaned her head on her friend's shoulder. The familiar purr of one of Katsu's chauffering cars lilted along as Ema vaguely registered Kiyomi giving instructions to the Oshiro family driver and buckling her into her seat with the tenderness of a sister.

As she drifted to sleep, Kiyomi's voice hummed a soft lullaby and her light kisses whispered away the tear trails on Ema's cheeks.

* * *

 **Sorry about the late update!**

 **Any guesses on what this chapter means for Ema's relationship with the brothers and Kaito? I'd love to hear your thoughts and theories~ ;) These past few chapters have been pretty drama-filled but you can expect some fluff coming up both with the Asahinas and Ema's #squad in the next chapter or two.**

 **Also, on another note, my other story, _Livewyre,_ is officially up! I'm super excited about that story, so it would mean a lot to me if you would check it out and let me know what you think. :)**

 **As usual, thanks for your continued support, and please review!**


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